Judge: Corps of Engineers can be sued over Katrina flooding

AP via SFGate ^ | 5/2/8 | CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

New Orleans (AP) -- The Army Corps of Engineers can be held liable for flood damage caused by a "hurricane highway," a navigation channel that is believed to have funneled Hurricane Katrina's storm surge into the city, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The Corps of Engineers had argued that it was immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system. The law says the federal government cannot be sued if something goes wrong with a flood control project such as a levee, reservoir or dam.

Judge Stanwood Duval dismissed that argument, saying the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, or MRGO, was clearly a ship channel and not a flood control project.

Plaintiffs' lawyers said Duval's decision is a victory for homeowners, who have suffered setbacks in their efforts to hold the government legally responsible for storm damage. They also said it clears the way for a Sept. 8 trial.

The corps "threw everything they had at us, every legal argument they had, their spin on the facts," said Pierce O'Donnell, one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys.

In January, Duval ruled that the corps was entitled to immunity over flood damage from levee breaches elsewhere in New Orleans.

The government had claimed its immunity should extend to the MRGO, but Duval said that channel and the levee system are separate projects with different funding methods and purposes.

"The United States should not be immunized for a tort which occurred from an activity unrelated to a flood control project," Duval wrote Friday. "Taken to its logical conclusion, such a policy would yield absurd results."

Duval heard arguments from lawyers on both sides in March.

...Duval issued a similar ruling in February 2007, when he denied a motion by the government to dismiss the case.

[Old Mountain man]

Only a Clinton judge would come up with the garbage this gomer came up with.

[Sherman Logan]

I’m not going to pay for it.

Yes, you are.

[aaCharley]

Seruzawa,
You sure nailed it.
Seems to be the “thing to do”, find an attorney and a judge who will find that someone else is really responsible when the stupid decision leads to a bad outcome.
With all of the forum legal shopping, it only takes the one lucky case to get the ball rolling for the damage claims. As if the Billions that the taxpayers have sent in already were not enough.

[Reagan is King]

That just means the poor taxpayers will get soaked by lawyers yet again.

[Mila]

"I’d be exaggerating by saying that 90% of all New Orleanians have filed at least one lawsuit during their lifetimes. I know for a fact that there are a great many New Orleans families whose members do not work, and have never worked, but all of them file lawsuits on a regular basis."

Interesting. I was born here and have lived here for most of my life. I have never filed a lawsuit, nor do I know of anyone who has, including any friends or family. I also somehow have been lucky enough not to know any of these families "whose members do not work, and have never worked",but all of whom file lawsuits on a regular basis. Could you tell me how you know this "for a fact"?

[ought-six]

“Could you tell me how you know this ‘for a fact’?”

Sure. I lived and worked in New Orleans for many years. My family and my wife’s family have New Orleans roots going back a couple hundred years. I worked for a company that defended the people being sued. Have you ever wondered why Louisiana in general, and New Orleans in particular, are pretty much considered uninsurable by the insurance industry? It isn’t because of storms, believe me. It’s because of the out-of-control litigation. Check out the records at CDC (Civil District Court) in New Orleans someday, and check out the ratio of lawsuits filed to the number of defendants who prevailed in those lawsuits. The ratio is, well, skewed to one side (i.e., defendants prevail on a percentage in the single digits).