In a ruling that could have wide-ranging implications for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, a U.S. District Judge in New Orleans ruled that it was the Army Corps of Engineers’ negligence that caused the major flooding and property damage that occurred there in 2005.
The four residents and one business were awarded $719,698 in damages by Judge Stanwood Duval, after they sued the US and the Army Corps of Engineers, arguing the defendants were negligent in the design, construction, and maintenance of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a navigational channel. “Once the corps exercised its discretion to create a navigational channel, it was obligated to make sure that channel did not destroy the environment surrounding it thereby creating a hazard to life and property,” Judge Duval wrote in his decision.
The ruling means that potentially thousands of other New Orleans residents may be able to sue the government on the same grounds, leading to billions of dollars of liability for the government.