Some three and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans residents will finally get a chance to put the Army Corps of Engineers on trial.
A federal judge in New Orleans ruled Friday that a lawsuit holding the Army Corps responsible for flooding during Hurricane Katrina can proceed to trial next month.
The lawsuit, which was filed by plaintiffs whose homes in eastern New Orleans, the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish were flooded during the 2005 hurricane, argues that the Army Corps failed to properly maintain a navigation channel called the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO).
The shipping canal is now known to be responsible for destroying large parts of Louisiana's coastline and protective wetlands and contributing to the devastating damage New Orleans suffered during Hurricane Katrina. MR-GO intensified the hurricane's storm surge and flooded eastern New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish.
In his Friday decision, Judge Stanwood Duval said the decision for a trial is required in order to determine whether the corps failed to take the risk of flooding from the outlet seriously after it dug the channel.
As the Times Picayune reports:
Prior attempts to sue the corps have failed. In January 2008, Duval dismissed a class-action lawsuit against the Army Corps over the breaching of New Orleans' 17th Street Canal during Katrina. The judge ruled that the corps was immune in that case under the Flood Control Act of 1928, which grants immunity to the federal government when flood control projects -- including floodwalls -- break. Class action lawsuits filed against insurance companies for flood damage were also dismissed in 2007 by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The End of Mister Go
The federally-funded MR-GO was dug into the swamps southeast of New Orleans in the 1960s as a shortcut between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. But the catastrophic impact of the project is no longer up for debate. Yet, for years the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies allowed energy companies to decimate Louisiana's coastal wetlands, the best buffers against hurricanes, with projects like MR-GO. For just as many years, residents, coastal advocates, environmentalists, civil rights groups, and policy makers argued for MR-GO's closure, as the 76-mile shipping channel continued to grow in size due to erosion, bringing with it daily tidal flows of salt water that killed wetlands, marsh and swamp forests.
It wasn't until after the devastation of Katrina that that the outcry against the channel gained momentum, prompting Congress to allow the Corps to close the shipping route. And now, some fifty years after digging MR-GO and destroying vast wetland areas, the Corps has finally begun to look at restoring the damage the channel caused.
But the restoration is too little too late for families who lost everything to the flooding. Jonathan Andry, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Associated Press that the corps never apologized after homes, businesses and whole neighborhoods of eastern New Orleans and nearby St. Bernard parish were swamped by floodwaters surging up the channel. "When the Mister Go caused the flooding, the corps didn't even come out and say to the people ... 'we're sorry,'" Andry said. "Not only that, they came into court and they say, 'it's just a terrible thing that happened to you, but we're immune. And oh, by the way, go enjoy your destroyed life.'"
The plaintiffs' lead trial lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, told the Times-Picayune that his clients will be looking toward Washington, D.C. for support. "Before and after his election, President Obama promised that he would make rebuilding New Orleans a top priority," O'Donnell said. "We are looking to the White House for leadership in expeditiously resolving the claims of Katrina victims in a fair and equitable manner. The continued stonewalling of Katrina victims is a national disgrace."
The trial is scheduled to start on April 20.
A federal judge in New Orleans ruled Friday that a lawsuit holding the Army Corps responsible for flooding during Hurricane Katrina can proceed to trial next month. The lawsuit, which was filed by plaintiffs whose homes in eastern New Orleans, the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish were flooded during the 2005 hurricane, argues that the Army Corps failed to properly maintain a navigation channel called the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO).
The shipping canal is now known to be responsible for destroying large parts of Louisiana's coastline and protective wetlands and contributing to the devastating damage New Orleans suffered during Hurricane Katrina. MR-GO intensified the hurricane's storm surge and flooded eastern New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish.
In his Friday decision, Judge Stanwood Duval said the decision for a trial is required in order to determine whether the corps failed to take the risk of flooding from the outlet seriously after it dug the channel.
As the Times Picayune reports:
Duval said a trial is necessary to hash out several "material questions of fact," including whether the National Environmental Protection Act was violated by what the Corps claims were the legally-permissible, discretionary decisions it made in designing, building and maintaining the 76-mile channel, and whether, as the plaintiffs maintain, the Corps violated that law's requirement to warn Congress of the dangers presented by the MRGO.This is the first case against the Army Corps by Katrina flood victims to go to trail. The outcome of this case could set the stage for thousands of other people whose homes and businesses were flooded in the same area to seek compensation from the federal government for the Army Corp's negligence. Another group of New Orleans residents has a separate lawsuit pending that asks the court to allow the case against the Army Corps to proceed as a class action, representing everyone in those areas who sustained flooding in the 2005 storm.
Prior attempts to sue the corps have failed. In January 2008, Duval dismissed a class-action lawsuit against the Army Corps over the breaching of New Orleans' 17th Street Canal during Katrina. The judge ruled that the corps was immune in that case under the Flood Control Act of 1928, which grants immunity to the federal government when flood control projects -- including floodwalls -- break. Class action lawsuits filed against insurance companies for flood damage were also dismissed in 2007 by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The End of Mister Go
The federally-funded MR-GO was dug into the swamps southeast of New Orleans in the 1960s as a shortcut between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. But the catastrophic impact of the project is no longer up for debate. Yet, for years the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies allowed energy companies to decimate Louisiana's coastal wetlands, the best buffers against hurricanes, with projects like MR-GO. For just as many years, residents, coastal advocates, environmentalists, civil rights groups, and policy makers argued for MR-GO's closure, as the 76-mile shipping channel continued to grow in size due to erosion, bringing with it daily tidal flows of salt water that killed wetlands, marsh and swamp forests.
It wasn't until after the devastation of Katrina that that the outcry against the channel gained momentum, prompting Congress to allow the Corps to close the shipping route. And now, some fifty years after digging MR-GO and destroying vast wetland areas, the Corps has finally begun to look at restoring the damage the channel caused.
But the restoration is too little too late for families who lost everything to the flooding. Jonathan Andry, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Associated Press that the corps never apologized after homes, businesses and whole neighborhoods of eastern New Orleans and nearby St. Bernard parish were swamped by floodwaters surging up the channel. "When the Mister Go caused the flooding, the corps didn't even come out and say to the people ... 'we're sorry,'" Andry said. "Not only that, they came into court and they say, 'it's just a terrible thing that happened to you, but we're immune. And oh, by the way, go enjoy your destroyed life.'"
The plaintiffs' lead trial lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, told the Times-Picayune that his clients will be looking toward Washington, D.C. for support. "Before and after his election, President Obama promised that he would make rebuilding New Orleans a top priority," O'Donnell said. "We are looking to the White House for leadership in expeditiously resolving the claims of Katrina victims in a fair and equitable manner. The continued stonewalling of Katrina victims is a national disgrace."
The trial is scheduled to start on April 20.
I was a native of New Orleans, La. at the time of Hurricane Katrina. My family is still suffering from the turmoil of Hurricane Katrina. There are still family members that I haven't seen since the storm. Some members were displaced so far away, and have not been able to get back home, due to their financial situations. Some of my family members have passed away since the storm due to heart attacks and other ailments. I'm sure stress has played as a factor in some of their ailments. I hope that this law suit opens the door for others and give the people of New Orleans what they deserve- money could never wash away our memory or replace sentimental values that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina; However, it would help if you didn't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from, or how the next bill is going to get paid, or if a family member gets sick or pass away, if you are financially able to be there for your family. My family has suffered long enough and it's time for justice to be served for all in New Orleans!
April 14, 2009 10:49 AM | Reply
I still have a financial situation iam struggling to make ends meet. Everything in my house was paid for in full and now i still need furniture.I have to get a second drop so i want get put out on the street.If it wasn't for the levee breaching we all still would be in our homes.It wasn't because of the hurricane damaging anything it was because of the levee. And not only did water go into the 9th ward one time water from the levee flooded the 9th ward 3 times but they think we don't know about that.If this was a all white subdivision thay wouldn't even have to have a trail! i don't need to say anymore.
April 20, 2009 1:21 PM | Reply
You Sharonda, are nothing but a racist. "If it was a all white subdivision. . ." GIVE ME A FREEKIN BREAK.
April 20, 2009 3:00 PM | Reply
I HAVE TO AGREE WITH GEORGE....I AM AFRICAN AMERICAN AND KATRINA WAS A HURRICANE OF NO COLOR...TRUE AS IT MAY BE THAT THE LEVEES WERE NOT BUILT TO THE STRENGTH AND CAPACITY OF WHAT WE WERE TO ONE DAY ENCOUNTER..EVERYONE IS AFFECTED THE SAME..SO IF RACE WAS IN YOUR MIND A FACTOR BEFORE GET OVER IT...KATRINA SHOULD HAVE GIVEN A LOT OF PEOPLE WISDOM BETTER YET A REALITY CHECK...THERE IS A BLACK PRESIDENT NOW AND WE AS PEOPLE OF ALL COLOR ARE STILL IGNORANT THAT DISASTERS DO NOT AFFECT US BY RACE, LET'S GET OVER IT AND GET OUR CITY, NOT BACK TO WHERE IT WAS, BUT UP AND RUNNING AND A HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN WHERE WE WERE....THE WORLD US IS MOVING ON AND THE MAJORITY OF OUR LOUISIANIANS ARE STILL BLAMING EVERYTHING ON COLOR...COME ON GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE....
April 26, 2009 7:58 PM | Reply
No one is blaming it on color we are just saying if it was a all white neighborhood it wouldn't even take this long for justice.A hurricane don't know wether you are white are black.And yes we do have a black president now.If he was in office for hurricane Katrina it wouldn't have took him a week to get to New Orleans!
April 28, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply
And I am not a racist at ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 28, 2009 11:19 AM | Reply
how ignorant!! If it was a white neighborhood this wouldnt have happened!!! You have to be kidding. This just didnt happen to new orleans. It happened in St Bernard Parish, also. The difference? St Bernard was totally wiped out by hurricane katrina. I had was up to the gutters, I also lost EVERYTHING. And I am white. We have all been through something dramatic and unfair. We all lost everything, we all were displaced, and we all are doing our best to get back to a life worth living. But I am FED UP ABOUT IF THIS WAS A WHITE ISSUE THIS WOULDNT HAVE HAPPENED. The issue is that the federal government dug this channel and then destroyed out life. So lets keep the anger towards them where it belongs.
April 28, 2009 11:49 AM | Reply
Let's Just hope the trail go very will for EVERYONE!!!!!!!!
THAT HAD TO GO THROUGH THIS!
April 29, 2009 2:28 PM | Reply
THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED IF THE LEVEE WOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED WHEN BETSY HIT OVER 40 YEARS AGO. I LIVED IN NEW ORLEANS AND NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE LIVING SOMEHWERE I WASN'T COMFORTABLE. I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES FROM KATRINA. NO ONE REALLY KNOWS HOW WE FEEL IF THEY DIDN'T GO THROUGH IT. I LIVED IN A TOWNHOUSE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER RAN RIGHT IN FRONT. THERE IS NO WAY THAT WATER COULD HAVE CAME LIKE THAT IF THERE WAS SOME MISCHIEF. THEY KNOW WHO IS THE BLAME. THEY NEED TO OWN UP TO IT AND TAKE CARE OF IT, MEANING GIVE US BACK WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM US, OUR LIVES, (FAMILY) THAT CAN NOT BE REPLACED.
May 19, 2009 6:35 AM | Reply
I like everyone else in the 9th ward lost everything too,but I thank GOD that my life was spared and my family made it out alive. Material things can be replaced but a lost life is a void that will never be filled. I am also struggling to get back home. With the help of GOD we will all make it back. "the time you waste worring you should be praying, put it in the hands of GOD and leave it there"
June 6, 2009 1:44 AM | Reply
I am from new orleans and i also feel that we were miss treated. I feel that Katrina did not take that effect on the city. The levees was breached. Pepoled have died because of it. Families ARE still displaced. Most of us are still stresed. Yeah we pray and yes I am BLESSED. But we all know that the WHOLE CITY was under water. That WAS NOT a Natural Disaster, Corps of Engineers breached the levees and Bush let us for dead before he even ALLOWED not sent but ALLOWED HELP to enter the City. They owe us and they owe us big. So before you make negitive comment about how we feel. Take a walk in my shoes and viwe things from my eyes. Thne and only then you will see the I feel or WE feel.
August 9, 2009 8:07 PM | Reply
I was there that day hurricane Katrina came to new Orleans. stuck at a hotel on the 3rd FLOOR. WHAT ELSE COULD WE DO? No lights N/o water just pitch dark.All my life i never would have believed what i saw. Well who could have imagined being on a desert. because truly it was very scary and painful. But does anyone care about what happened? NO because it didn't happened to anyone but Louisiana people. And i think that's messed up to take away our entire life. We deserved as citizen's and tax payers to be treated fare. So where is fare now?
August 15, 2009 1:58 AM | Reply
I'am from New Orleans most, and many of you are right wheather, you are black, or white, it is time to fix this situation I say, so let us all agree in prayer, in the name of Jesus,cause we mostly first of all need healing.
September 4, 2009 3:17 PM | Reply
Remember God don't love us by color,like I said lets agree in prayer, so this can work for all whom this applies too.God can cause us to get the help we need, better then anyone can.
September 4, 2009 3:25 PM | Reply