Glad to see the bar’s priorities are in order. “At least one suit was filed in the last week, and plans were being sketched out for many more. The targets include real estate agents, insurance companies and federal agencies. The potential damages being sought range from a few thousand dollars to billions of dollars.” One plaintiff’s law firm is suing a real estate agency under price-gouging statutes because a homeowner raised the price of his Baton Rouge house over the old list price, which can’t be a comforting thought for anyone who owns real estate in a rising market. Others, including the infamous Dickie Scruggs, seek to sue insurers in “thousands of suits,” arguing that flood exclusions in policies do not apply because a house totallly destroyed by a flood was partially damaged by wind, and that the insured should get the full amount. A Houston Chronicle article underplays the risk. (Joseph Menn, LA Times, Sep. 15; Brett Martel, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sep. 14; Mary Flood (!), “Storm lawsuits a long shot”, Houston Chronicle, Sep. 15).
Posts Tagged ‘Katrina’
Katrina volunteer liability protection
By a voice vote, the House of Representatives yesterday approved H.R. 3736, legislation “providing legal protections for volunteers assisting in the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort”. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a sponsor, said in a press release (PDF):
“At the federal level, the Volunteer Protection Act [passed some years back] does not provide any protection to volunteers who aren’t working under the auspices of an official nonprofit organization, namely a 501(c)(3) organization, and it provides no protection at all to nonprofit organizations themselves….
According to recent press accounts, the Red Cross feels constrained in giving out the names of refugees to those who want to offer their homes to them for shelter because they have concerns about liability. The Red Cross has cited “liability issues” as a reason for people not to volunteer to take refugees into their homes, and complained generally that “There is so much liability involved.”…
The bill, Sensenbrenner said, would apply only to those who act without pay and without a prior duty to aid, and would not apply to those who “act in a willful, wanton, reckless, or criminal manner or violate a State or Federal civil rights law.” More: our Sept. 6 post, in which Ted calls attention to some of the same Red Cross complaints (coincidence?). And Glenn Reynolds’ list of Katrina relief outlets is here — please remember to give.
Lawsuits on the levee
After reports (see Sept. 9) in National Review Online, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere that Army Corps of Engineers levees and other flood-control measures in southern Louisiana were derailed by litigation over environmental impact statements, critics of the projects respond that the measures in question were badly planned, ineffective in addressing flood dangers, and were eventually let drop for good reasons. (G. Tracy Mehan III, “Dam It”, National Review Online, Sept. 12; press release by University of Texas lawprof Thomas A. McGarity of the left-wing Center for Progressive Reform, Sept. 9 (PDF)). Jonathan Adler comments on NRO “The Corner” here and here.
Flood damage excluded? Pay anyway
Standard homeowners’ policies exclude coverage of flood damage unless it is purchased at a substantial additional premium, a fact well known to most property owners in high-risk areas. Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, a familiar figure to readers of this space, had the foresight to purchase flood insurance for his Pascagoula home, now partly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Now he wants the world’s insurers to pay billions for the properties they didn’t collect a premium for insuring, as well — perhaps scores of billions, if the principle is to extend to Louisiana. “Mr. Scruggs said he plans to urge Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood to try to override flood-exclusion clauses in homeowners’ policies in that state in the interest of public policy, a move that could force insurers to pay many billions more toward rebuilding costs.” (Theo Francis, John D. McKinnon and Peter Sanders, “Paying for Flood Damage Looms as Big Challenge”, WSJ, Sept. 8)(sub). An operative with the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association says he hopes that “people on the Coast and their friends statewide ratchet up the political pressure” to make the insurers pay. (Anita Lee, “Claims Dispute”, Biloxi Sun-Herald, Sept. 9). Megan McArdle thinks it’s all a brilliant way to scare insurers away from offering even conventional coverage in the future (Sept. 8). See also Point of Law, Sept. 9. More: Martin Grace Sept. 8, Sept. 8 again, Sept. 13.
“Katrina as the feds’ Enron”
“The common complaint [by Republicans] is that the president has let the lawyers take over,” reports columnist Robert Novak (“Lawyers vs. Katrina”, syndicated/TownHall, Sept. 8). In all fairness, if that’s the common complaint, it would seem to be a little broad-brush, since NYC mayor Giuliani, whose disaster-response leadership passes as the gold standard, was a lawyer too. Meanwhile, Larry Ribstein (Sept. 6) says federal officials are lucky they don’t have to live by the standards they prescribe for private business on such matters as “internal controls” and security planning.
Army Corps sued over levee-building
Over the years the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed numerous levee and other public works projects aimed at reducing hurricane dangers to New Orleans and elsewhere in the Mississippi/Missouri river system. Environmental groups have sued, and sued, and sued, and sued, and their lawsuits have often succeeded in stopping these flood-control measures. (John Berlau, “Greens Vs. Levees”, National Review Online, Sept. 8; Michael Tremoglie, “New Orleans: A Green Genocide”, FrontPage, Sept. 8). Plus: Prof. Bainbridge (Sept. 9) has more details and spots a Los Angeles Times article raising the issue (Ralph Vartabedian and Peter Pae, “A Barrier That Could Have Been”, Sept. 9). The article’s summary line: “Congress OKd a project to protect New Orleans 40 years ago, but an environmentalist suit halted it. Some say it could have worked.” More: Sept. 14 (environmentalists and project critics respond).
Why we’re so short of refineries
Adrian Moore explains why no new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976, and not for lack of demand (“Katrina Reveals Gas Price Folly”, Orange County Register, Sept. 1, reprinted at Reason Foundation site) (via Instapundit). See Jun. 10, 2004.
Eve Tushnet
…will do something creative if you make a Katrina donation (Sept. 4).
Katrina relief and liability issues
As might be expected, local charities have run into some organizational obstacles.
Former Daytona Beach Mayor Bud Asher, for example, has gathered the names of 50 people who have offered their homes to refugees, but doesn’t know of any refugees who need places to stay. Asher cannot turn to the Red Cross, which won’t give out names because of logistical and liability issues, said Hamlin, the local spokesman.
(Jim Haug, “New Orleans family winds up here, out of resources”, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Sep. 6). NOLA Help and the somewhat unorganized Katrina Help Wiki provides one means of breaking through the red tape.
Elsewhere, Anthony Sebok suggests that Hurricane Katrina should cause us to re-evaluate the 9/11 Victims’ Fund.
Louisiana protecting medical volunteers
Sydney Smith at MedPundit has a list of volunteer opportunities for medical professionals, and those in a position to donate medical supplies, in the hurricane aftermath. The text of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s executive order on out-of-state medical volunteers is here (PDF) and relevant excerpts appear on the Louisiana State Medical Society site. Briefly, Gov. Blanco’s order suspends licensure requirements for professionals licensed elsewhere and brings out-of-state medical personnel (but not, apparently, those who already practicing in Louisiana) under a liability umbrella by designating them as agents of the state for purposes of tort action provided they “possess[] current state medical licenses in good standing in their respective states of licensure and that they practice in good faith and within the reasonable scope of his or her skills, training or ability.” See Aug. 31, Sept. 2. More ways to help: NOLAHelp.com (via Ernie the Attorney).