NationStates Jolt Archive

New Orleans it seems is asking for 77billion in a lawsuit from the Army Corps. of Engineers. I think these guys are way overboard on what they are asking. This does not include the private lawsuites for business and individual losses. I think they are making a moneygrab here at the expense of the nations taxpayers.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/03/katrina.claim.ap/index.html

Well, the money cut from the budget for levy maintenance comes from tax payer dollars, a portion of which is paid for by the people of New Orleans. Yes it is a lot, but, a part of the national budget that was supposed to pay for the upkeep was cut and they want what was rightfully cut that would have otherwise prevented the extent of the damage. I do however agree that it is a little much that they're asking for.

One arm of the government is suing one of the others.....this amuses me.

You don't ask for what you hope you'll get, you ask for a hell of a lot more so there is wiggle room.

Except if we're talking about pancakes. Because that game can end disasterously.

Great example of why Lawyer's should be the first to plug holes in the next levee breach...

Great example of why Lawyer's should be the first to plug holes in the next levee breach...

I don't know why everyone hates lawyers. Lawyers have kept my jail time to a minimum. They're good for that sort of thing.

You don't ask for what you hope you'll get, you ask for a hell of a lot more so there is wiggle room.

Except if we're talking about pancakes. Because that game can end disasterously.

Indeed it can. *nod*

I don't know why everyone hates lawyers. Lawyers have kept my jail time to a minimum. They're good for that sort of thing.

You know what else is great for keeping jail time to a minimum? Obeying the law. ;)

I don't see the problem here.

You know what else is great for keeping jail time to a minimum? Obeying the law. ;)

Marrying a cop. :)

Marrying a cop. :)

Same thing.

Well the levees shouldn't have broke so I hardly see the problem with a suit. I would question how the city came up with the number $77 billion though.

What in New Orleans was ever worth $77 billion? I visited there for a couple weeks a year or so before the hurricane.. I wouldn't have paid 10b for the whole town.. meh.

Well the levees shouldn't have broke so I hardly see the problem with a suit.


Damn near everything has a possibility of breaking. If you can make it..you can break it.

Damn near everything has a possibility of breaking. If you can make it..you can break it.

They could have done it right the first time but instead chose to do it cheap. NO should get monetary damages because of it.

You don't ask for what you hope you'll get, you ask for a hell of a lot more so there is wiggle room.

Except if we're talking about pancakes. Because that game can end disasterously.

It actually depends upon the jurisdiction. But yes, in general you are correct, you are usually limited to the extent that the ad damnum pleads for relief in the complaint and therefore it is only natural to set unrealistically high limits in case a jury wants to give more.

NY abolished this rule a few years ago I believe.

I'm sure one of the practicing lawyers on NS knows more about this issue in detail.

They could have done it right the first time but instead chose to do it cheap. NO should get monetary damages because of it.

Should the get some monetary help? Yes I can agree with that. What in the world are they going to do with 77billion dollars? That is an insane amount for a city the size of N.O. The US government does not have a money tree on the whitehouse lawn. Why do people think the government is just a open checkbook?

You know, the Corps isn't the only one to blame. The state deserves it for their chronic underfunding of projects on the local level, and the city deserves equally as much blame for its idiotic urban planning that put those neighborhoods under sea level and overdeveloped the local environment, which made the city many times more vulnerable to flooding than it would have been had they developed it sensibly the first time around.

That being said, some extra money going to the city would be supremely beneficial. However, this isn't the way to do it.

One arm of the government is suing one of the others.....this amuses me.
Tell me about it.

I don't see the problem here.

Figured you say that.

The figure will drop because this is way over the top. Not to mention, it probably might get settled out of court.

You know, the Corps isn't the only one to blame. The state deserves it for their chronic underfunding of projects on the local level, and the city deserves equally as much blame for its idiotic urban planning that put those neighborhoods under sea level and overdeveloped the local environment, which made the city many times more vulnerable to flooding than it would have been had they developed it sensibly the first time around.

That being said, some extra money going to the city would be supremely beneficial. However, this isn't the way to do it.

Hear hear.

Figured you say that.Why? What are you implying?

The figure will drop because this is way over the top. Not to mention, it probably might get settled out of court.
Possibly. It's also possible it'll get dragged out so long that the city will disappear back into the swamps from whence it came before anyone sees a penny. But I don't see a problem with the city piling on everything they can into the suit--like someone above noted, you ask for everything and settle for something. If you only ask for something, you're liable to wind up with nothing.

Great example of why Lawyer's should be the first to plug holes in the next levee breach...
They are more deserving of death by fire.