Perhaps I am biased, but I am curious if others see this as a good reason for tort reform? Lawsuit blames oil companies for loss of wetlands, Katrina damage LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A lawsuit seeks what attorneys say could be billions of dollars from a long list of oil companies for damages to wetlands that would have allegedly softened Hurricane Katrina's blow. The class-action suit, filed in federal court in Lafayette this week, names as plaintiffs "all persons, businesses and entities in the state of Louisiana who have suffered damages as a result of Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge." At issue are the oil and gas pipeline canals that crisscross the state's coastal areas -- canals blamed in part for the loss of coastal marsh, an important hurricane buffer for inland areas. "There was no longer the natural barrier that God gave New Orleans," said New Orleans attorney Val Exnicios, who filed the lawsuit along with attorneys from the New Orleans firm of St. Martin & Willams. The lawsuit names as defendants 11 oil and gas companies, including Shell Oil, ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP Corp. Exnicios said the number of plaintiffs could be "a million or more" with monetary damages "in tens of billions if not hundreds of billions." Damages are sought for home loss and damage, land loss, death, injuries, loss of business and anything else related to the storm, he said.
"There was no longer the natural barrier that God gave New Orleans," said New Orleans attorney Val Exnicios, who filed the lawsuit along with attorneys from the New Orleans firm of St. Martin & Willams." Does anyone else find this quote as funny as I. God never gave New Orleans a natural barrier, because the city is 13ft below sea-level. If anyones going to be blamed why not just ***** at the mayor for not using all of those buses and bus drivers to mandate an evacuation by any means necessary? Since when are corporations or people responsible for natural disasters?
Isnt this sort of petty? trying to make money off a tragedy like Hurricane Katrina? Sueing because wet lands were removed to supply our demand for oil? and how can these people prove that the wet lands would have saved new orleans? also if they did win the case, the lawyer im sure would take 1/4 of their settlement if not more.
Why don't they just bring a lawsuit against Mother Nature and get years of money due to those killed and injured in her deadly disasters. I mean come on!!!! You can't live in an area below sea level, near the Gulf and not expect to lose your city eventually.
She does have money, mineral rights. I can see the lawyers lining up now to find an angle to redistribute those rights now...
I feel bad for these people, they lost everything. But seriously... there should be a law against suing for something that was impossible to stop like a natural disaster.
Beyond Retarded. It is cases like this that give lawyers a bad name. (Although it is actually the lawyers that bring cases like this that are to blame)
