Federal Judge Stanwood Duval gave final approval this past Wednesday to a settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by approximately 500,000 property owners and businesses against three local levee districts for damages caused by flooding from failed levees after Hurricane Katrina.
The Orleans, East Jefferson and Lake Borgne Levee Districts tendered close to $20 million from insurance policies, according to Joseph Bruno, lead attorney in the case.
The following defendants were sued in the case entitled, In Re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation: The Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District, the Orleans Levee District, the Board of Commissioners of the Lake Borne Basin Levee District, the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District, the Board of Commissioners of the East Jefferson Levee District, the East Jefferson Levee District and the Board of Commissioners of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East.
The three levee boards moved jointly with plaintiff litigation committees to settle claims for alleged negligence and fault in connection with the failure of levees and resulting damage following Hurricane Katrina and in some cases Hurricane Rita. A preliminary settlement was entered into last December. A final order was signed Wednesday afternoon by Judge Duval. Attorney Joseph Bruno emphasized that the while the court's ruling is significant, it made no determination as to how the proceeds will be distributed. "We expect an appeal," Bruno said. "No decision on the distribution of this settlement will be made until the appellate process is completed. That could take months if not years."
Bruno said a court-appointed "special master" will determine how to distribute proceeds from the settlement and that he doesn't know how many property owners from the three parishes will benefit from the settlement.
By agreement of plaintiffs' counsel, none of the proceeds will go toward attorneys fees although a claim may be made by attorneys to recover expenses of the In Re: Katrina class-action lawsuits.
The settlement does not affect the ongoing case against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for negligent design and implementation of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
This article was originally published in the September 14, 2009 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
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