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Hurricane Katrina: The Emerging Jurisprudence
On Aug. 29, 2005, at approximately 6:00 a.m., Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. Only two hours later, the levees in New Orleans gave way. As the third-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States, Hurricane Katrina was responsible for taking more than 1836 lives and causing more than $81.2 billion in damages ' making it the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. The hurricane displaced 500,000 families and destroyed 275,000 homes. James A. Knox, Jr., Causation, The Flood Exclusion, and Katrina, 41 Tort Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 901, 902 (2006). The insurance industry has paid more than $40 billion in connection with Hurricane Katrina claims. David Dankwa, New Orleans Port Trumpets Insurance Dispute at RIMS, A.M. Best: BestWire, May 2, 2007. The Insurance Services Office estimates 1.6 million claims will be made ' including residential property, commercial property, vehicle, and vessel claims. See Knox, Causation, at 905.
Current reports indicate there are well over 1100 Katrina lawsuits filed against insurance companies. With 1,100 Katrina Lawsuits, Court Schedule Stretches into 2008, Insurance Journal, Oct. 20, 2006. By the end of 2006, there were approximately 70 Katrina decisions handed down in Louisiana, and 50 such decisions rendered in Mississippi. Rhonda Orin, First-Party Coverage for Catastrophic Risks, 758 PLI/Lit 89, 94 (April-May 2007). The early Katrina cases have focused on four interesting coverage issues involving: 1) the enforceability of flood exclusions, 2) the effect of 'anti-concurrent causation' provisions, 3) coverage for 'slab' situations where policyholders' homes have been reduced to the foundation, and 4) coverage for losses caused by flooding due to levee breaches in New Orleans that allegedly occurred due to negligent design and maintenance. Judge LT Senter in the Southern District of Mississippi has played a key role in the emerging Katrina jurisprudence, as the federal Mississippi cases in that district have been assigned to him.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.