Tag: Superstorm Sandy

Does Louisiana Deserve Federal Flood Aid when its Congressmen Voted to Deny it to Others

The answer to that question is pretty clear to me, the folks that elected Congressmen Steve Scalise, Bill Cassidy and John Flemming that flooded out in Louisiana should practice what they preach and not get a dime of federal help. By extension, since Mississippi’s fluffer Congressman Steven Palazzo also voted to deny Federal Aid to Superstorm Sandy victims the same would apply here in Mississippi the next time a hurricane hits the coast right?

These Louisiana politicians are demanding flood aid, but voted against Sandy relief ~ Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times

With due respect to Foster Campbell it’s a bit late for an apology:

Members of Louisiana congressional delegation owe Sandy victims an apology ~ Foster Campbell

Time for folks in the bayou country to start Hitchin’ their britches….

I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this in the national media.

 

Those that dealt with insurers and their pet engineering firms after Katrina can certainly relate

Newsday Front Page Courtesy of a Reader
Newsday Front Page Courtesy of a Reader

A Long Island engineering company and one of its former executives were charged on Monday in a scheme to minimize insurance payments to homeowners whose residences were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The full Indictment is available here.

I reckon Nielsen and the rest of the gang has got a sharp eye peeled on this latest turn of events. After Katrina the DoJ, then under President Bushie, preferred not to take on any large campaign contributors insurance companies, even if they defrauded the taxpayers. That really has not changed under Obama with the development of the twin legal theories in “too big to fail” and “too big to jail” so the New York AG’s referral of other potential criminal acts to the US DoJ is certain to die on the vine. Continue reading “Those that dealt with insurers and their pet engineering firms after Katrina can certainly relate”

Some things may never change….

FEMA still bites as do the insurance companies that adjust NFIP claims that take 33 cents on the dollar of the premiums doing so.

Business Of Disaster: Insurance Firms Profited $400 Million After Sandy ~ Laura Sullivan

Or you can listen to the 20 minute plus segment from NPR’s All Things Considered embedded below.

Meantime here on the coast where the false claims act suit against State Farm over dumping its winds claims on the NFIP is raging on for the 10th year, Delay, Deny Defend is still the strategy du jour as this order from Magistrate Walker earlier this month illustrates.

The New York Times is about 10 years late to the party……

And they still don’t get it completely but it appears the lightbulb is coming on very slowly:

Hurricane Sandy Victims Say Damage Reports Were Altered ~ David Chen

Of course the problem down here wasn’t that the National Flood Program was too generous to its policyholders, no siree. The NFIP was too generous to the WYO insurers that dumped their wind claims on the Flood Program.

The paid shills and hired guns, however, remain the same.

My personal recommendation to Chen would be to speak with some journalists that actually know the score such as Anita Lee, Dean Starkman, Jeff Amy and Paige St. John.

Meantime I’m still trying to drag Nowdy out of retirement.

Slabbed gets pictures plus other goodies

I’d like to acknowledge the recent care packages that I’ve received and thank those of you that sent them. I thought the pictures of Billy Hewes were a hoot. On that topic I will only say that I will not be running the pictures though I do appreciate the nice person spending the time to get them to me.

Hurricane Sandy litigation is heating up and I need to see about getting Nowdy back in one way shape or form to cover the litigation because it has a local bent and it is getting nasty:

Hartford Unit Faces Racketeering Suit on Sandy Claims ~ Christie Smythe

William Treas of the Metairie law firm of Nielsen Carter and Treas is a defendant in the suit. Nielsen Carter and Treas are the primary law firm for the National Flood Insurance program. The litigation after Hurricane Katrina here including the Louisiana based whistle blower suit Ex Rel Branch featured some of these same players so this has a family feud like quality that is undeniable. (Certain of the archival posts on this topic and Hurricane Katrina can be found here and here.)

A “Nowdygram” on the latest developments in USA Ex Rel Rigsby v State Farm

With due respect to Anita Lee I’ll let my former partner in blog go first:

Checked PACER to see if anything came up as the Rigsby’s rested their case…Sure nuf’ SF filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50 – just a docket entry…said the Court heard arguments and took the matter under advisement…did not say what the law was…

I looked up “judgment as a matter of law”

(a) Judgment as a Matter of Law.

(1) In General. If a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue, the court may:

(A) resolve the issue against the party; and

(B) grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law against the party on a claim or defense that, under the controlling law, can be maintained or defeated only with a favorable finding on that issue.

(2) Motion. A motion for judgment as a matter of law may be made at any time before the case is submitted to the jury. The motion must specify the judgment sought and the law and facts that entitle the movant to the judgment.

I do not see Judge Ozerden tossing this suit mid trial and this rule 50 motion seems like a standard defense tactic. Turns out Cori Rigsby did not take the stand yesterday so the Plaintiffs rested their case and State Farm took the floor with a Woody:

State Farm never called Katrina ‘water’ storm, adjuster testifies ~ Anita Lee

Three adjusters testify State Farm claim properly handled properly ~ Anita Lee

Meantime up in Jersey:

2 months after Superstorm Sandy, many in most devastated South Jersey communities still struggling to recover ~ Spencer Kent and Brittany M. Wehner

Less satisfied with her insurance coverage is homeowner Jeanna Weber, a 25-year resident of Fortescue.Weber says she’s frustrated, tired of calling her insurance company without any response. She has been calling since October, she said, but to no avail.

Because Steven Palazzo is such a pandering, selfish fool…….

What a petty, little man. It is pitiful what we have as our representative.

He voted against the fiscal cliff bill. And what did that vote mean? It meant to raise taxes on 100 percent of Americans, every one of them!!! And he ran on job creation for a second time, and no taxes. He sided with a radical wing for political reasons, and said the 98 percent of the working middle class can go straight to hell.

This child is too immature to hold such an office. He has no idea what he is doing, he is just taking his marching orders from a political/lobbyist group, but NOT from the people in his district.

Palazzo votes no on $9.7 billion Sandy relief measure ~ Anita Lee

How ironic since his family has been fleecing the local taxpayers for decades that this fool we have for a Congressman would deprive people that paid their flood insurance premiums their insurance settlements. To the extent dear ol’ papa Palazzo is one of Bill Walker’s friends and family Palazzo’s vote is particularly disgusting.

Man ‘o man how the people of south Mississippi shot themselves in the foot electing this clown back in November 2010.

Welp, I see Tom Wilson is still in charge at Allstate…….

Folks, it’s not that Wilson and his cronies in Northbrook are assholes that is the problem here.

Staten Island family says Allstate Insurance hasn’t paid out after Sandy, but used images of their flattened home in a commercial ~ Victoria Cavaliere New York Daily News

The problem is they’re God-damned assholes.

To those of you in New York without power rationing gasoline that may happen to read this

Slabbed’s old Katrina wind-water insurance posts are getting a nice workout lately courtesy of google. As the name of this place implies we, as a cyber community, have a wee bit of knowledge on the subject thus these musing are born of personal experience.  I have a Sandy insurance post coming and I am noticing the insurance media and their plants are busy trying to dumb down everyone with the meme insurers do not know how to legally interpret one of their own policy clauses in anti concurrent causation. This post deals with the immediate present for you folks that do not have power and are faced with very limited gasoline supplies.

I’m not sure what’s worse, not having gasoline or power in the late summer heat for which the deep south is famous or in late autumn cold in the northeast but what I do know is it sucks. Bad.  Builds character too.  😉

Stay tuned.