Tag: Sher v Lafayette

Rebecca Mowbray on Louisiana Insurance Litigation

There have been several reporters do excellent work on the societal issues Katrina brought to the fore here in the GO Zone. Chris Joyner at the Clarion Ledger has done several excellent stories on affordable housing issues for example. The list is too long to mention everyone but two reporters stand out from the rest to us here at slabbed for their coverage of the resulting Katrina insurance litigation, Anita Lee at the Sun Herald and Rebecca Mowbray at the Times Picayune. Today I highly recommend Ms Mowbray’s story Insurers Use Federal Cash to Help Pay Claims which contains a great synopysis of Louisiana insurance litigation. First she starts with a history lesson and then identifies the major issues:

The overarching question was whether the flood exclusions on insurance policies applied when the flood was caused by a levee breach. In other words, was a man-made flood a flood, and could insurance companies be held responsible for paying for it?

In August 2007, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision and said a flood was a flood. Homeowners’ insurance companies were off the hook, because people could have bought a flood policy from the government. Continue reading “Rebecca Mowbray on Louisiana Insurance Litigation”

Federal court in NOLA rules against State Farm on claim of mental anguish

First the story; then the background in Louisiana law where you see familiar names such as Weiss and Sher.

Peter and Sandra Perrien own a home located at 426 Moonraker Drive in Slidell, Louisiana. The home sustained significant damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina. At the time of Hurricane Katrina, State Farm entities provided the flood insurance and the homeowner’s insurance on the Perriens’ property.

Following the hurricane, plaintiffs filed claims with State Farm under both the homeowner’s policy and the flood policy. State Farm paid plaintiffs the dwelling and contents limits under the flood policy and paid plaintiffs approximately $9,000.00 for damage to the roof and approximately $11,000 in additional living expenses under the homeowner’s policy. State Farm denied the remainder of plaintiffs’ claim under the homeowner’s policy on the basis that the other damage had resulted from flood, an excluded peril under the homeowner’s policy.

Thereafter plaintiffs filed suit against State Farm seeking to recover, the policy limits under their homeowner’s policy as well as damages for “[p]ast, present and future mental anguish and distress.” (Doc. 1-4, p.5).

State Farm filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims for mental anguish and distress.

Now, here’s where it gets a little tricky for our friends in Louisiana – state law there applies to mental anquish and no doubt has caused much of same for those slabbed by Katrina, Rita or the levee. Continue reading “Federal court in NOLA rules against State Farm on claim of mental anguish”

Sher went back to the levee – still came up dry but will Corps get by?

I’m going to take the easy way out and post the Sher update from this comment on the ALL Board.

The Louisiana Supreme Court refused Tuesday to reconsider its recent ruling that an insurance company isn’t liable for water damage from the failure of levees in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.

The court ruled in April that Lafayette Insurance Co. isn’t obligated to pay policyholder Joseph Sher, the owner of a New Orleans apartment complex, for water damage from levee breaches after the August 2005 hurricane.

Sher’s lawyers asked the court for a rehearing on that issue, but the justices rejected their request Tuesday without giving an explanation.

“It’s over now,” said attorney Howard Kaplan, who represents Lafayette. “It puts the flood issue to an end.”

Last year, a state appeals court ruled that Lafayette’s homeowner policy failed to exclude all forms of flooding because its language was ambiguous. The Supreme Court disagreed, however, and said Lafayette is entitled to limit its liability for damage from a levee breach.

Our friends at the Ladder have been on top of levee stories and had this report on a new attempt to hold the Corps accountable – along with some interesting history. Continue reading “Sher went back to the levee – still came up dry but will Corps get by?”