Lines In New Orleans For Katrina Suit Deadline

On the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's 2005 arrival in New Orleans, attorneys in the city were marking the event by filing last-minute lawsuits against insurers.

At U.S. District Court in the city, an official there said there had been a noticeable increase in volume.

“We have pretty heavy filings today compared to normal days, but we're not overwhelmed and expect it will be steady throughout the day,” said Loretta G. Whyte, the clerk of the court on Poydras Street.

The deadline for such suits, normally one year under Louisiana law, was pushed back to today by the legislature.

In advance of the deadline, local attorneys advertised heavily, warning insureds that their time for bringing an action was running out.

James Williams, with the Metairie, La. law firm of Gauthier, Houghtaling & Williams–which, he said, is representing about 800 home- and businessowners–said the firm had been doing a lot of advertising, with television commercials about the deadline as well as holding an information seminar for businesses.

The firm, he noted, had been chosen by State Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr. to represent him and serve as protector for citizens in hurricane cases.

He said that the firm, in bringing last-minute actions, “went to the courthouse Monday and Tuesday to beat the rush, and we still have some people were trying to get in today.”

Mr. Williams said the firm has seen a tremendous increase in the volume of Katrina suits, with 300 coming in last year and 500 this year that it has accepted–noting that “we turn the majority of people contacting us away.”

Most of the firm's lawsuits are being filed at Orleans Parish Civil District Court, where the number of cases “is intense,” said Mr. Williams, adding he had witnessed lines that that were far bigger than at federal court.

Ninety-nine percent of Katrina claims have been settled, according to the Insurance Information Institute, but critics of that number say it includes cases where insurers have rejected a claim or issued an offer, but does not indicate that 99 percent have agreed with the carrier's determination.