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This settlement is closed!
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A court has approved a revised class action settlement related to the alleged failures and overtopping of levees and other flood control structures during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. If you were affected by flooding from Hurricane Katrina and/or Hurricane Rita, you may be eligible for compensation from the class action settlement.
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005 and Hurricane Rita made landfall on Sept. 24, 2005. The levee breach class action lawsuit alleged that levees and other water and flood control structures in the affected areas failed and/or were overtopped during the hurricanes because they were not properly designed, inspected or maintained. The plaintiffs allege that this failure caused them to suffer property damage, personal injury and other losses.
The settling defendants claim that the levees failed for reasons beyond their control and maintain that they did not do anything wrong. However, the Orleans Levee District, the Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District, the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District, the Board of Commissioners of the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District, the East Jefferson Levee District, the Board of Commissioners of the East Jefferson Levee District and their insurance company St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company have agreed to settle the levee breach class action lawsuit.
Who’s Eligible
Class Members of the levee breach class action settlement include all legal persons and entities who (a) at the time of Hurricane Katrina and/or Hurricane Rita (1) were located, present or residing in the Hurricane Affected Geographic Area, or (2) owned, leased, possessed, used or otherwise had any interest in homes, places of business or other immovable or movable property on or in the Hurricane Affected Geographic Area, and (b) who incurred any losses, damages and/or injuries arising from, in any manner related to, or connected in any way with Hurricane Katrina and/or Hurricane Rita and any alleged levee failures that originated from, over, under or through the levees under the authority and/or control of all or any of the levee district defendants.
There are three subclasses for the levee breach class action settlement:
- Subclass 1: (Lake Borgne Basin Levee District) – the entirety of St. Bernard Parish
- Subclass 2: (East Jefferson Levee District) – the entirety of Jefferson Parish plus a portion of Orleans parish (see distribution model on the settlement website)
- Subclass 3: (Orleans Levee District) – the entirety of Orleans Parish plus portions of Jefferson Parish and St Bernard Parish (see distribution model on the settlement website)
A PDF of the distribution model is available here. The geographic areas for the different Subclasses are also viewable on pages 8-12 of the distribution protocol document.
Potential Award
Varies.
Benefits each Class Member will be eligible to receive from the levee breach class action settlement will be calculated based on a Distribution Model. For each valid claim, points will be calculated under the following categories:
Individual Claims:
- Property Damage (Residential)
- Contents Damage (Residential)
- Other Individual Claims:
- Resident Claims
- Non-Resident Claims
- Visitor Claims
- Death Claims
- Survival Claims
- Wrongful Death Claims
Commercial/Business Claims:
- Property Damage (Commercial)
- Contents (Commercial)
- Loss of Business Income
All points assigned to a valid claim will be added together to create a point value. The monetary value of a point will be different for each Subclass and will be based upon the total funds available for each Subclass. The amount of compensation each Class Member will be eligible to receive depends on the total number of claims submitted.
Proof of Claim
Class Members must complete a proof of claim form and all requested documentation to be eligible for payment from the levee breach class action settlement.
Claim Form Deadline
4/30/2015
Case Name
Vodanovich v. Boh Brothers Construction Co. LLC, et al., Case No. 05-4191, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Final Hearing
9/23/2013
UPDATE on JULY 28, 2017: According to the settlement website, Levee Breach settlement checks will be mailed on July 31, 2017.  Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Levee Breach Claim Center
P.O. Box 64181
St. Paul, MN 55164-0181
Class Counsel
BECNEL LAW FIRM LLC
BRUNO & BRUNO
DUMAS & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM LLC
FAYARD & HONEYCUTT
JACOBS SARRAT LOVELACE & HARRIS
LAMBERT & NELSON
GAINSBURGH BENJAMIN DAVID MEUNIER & WARSHAUER LLC
ANDRY LAW FIRM
LEVIN PAPANTONIO THOMAS MITCHELL ECHSNER & PROCTOR PA
DOMENGEAUX WRIGHT ROY & EDWARDS LLC
Defense Counsel
PHELPS DUNBAR LLP
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53 thoughts onHurricane Katrina, Rita Levee Breach Class Action Settlement
Where’s the money
Any updates on this case
Any updates on this case
ANY UPDATES. THANKS
here is an update angel. we have your name and address. we are in the process of finding all the claims you have made in the past and building a case for perjury. soon as that is complete you will be hearing a knock on your door. bring your toothbrush. have a nice day.
I found this info on line- they have the money. I would contact these attorneys.
December 12, 2014, following the lapse of the period for timely opposition, the Court ordered the Escrow Agent to make payment of $1,452,200.00 to the Bruno & Bruno LLP Trust Account on behalf*55of the Levee Litigation Group and $1,997,800.00 to the Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards Trust Account on behalf of the MR-GO Litigation Group. (Rec. Doc. 242 at 2).
they are not sending us that check the final hearing was in 2013 we should have gotten our money by now! this is how you treat people that have went through heart ache and headaches, relocating, losing loved ones and almost dying themselves.
any one know when payments are mailed out?
YUP, MY FRIEND ISSTILL WAITING TO. HOPEFULLY CHECKS WILL COME SOON.
Please contact me regarding SBA not relocating my loan when I moved
do anyone know when checks are mailed out?
I’m waiting too
Still so very disillusioned. I am homesick and have no funds to even attempt to get back home. I lost so much. I have been grieving since being rescued from the Superdome.
There is no sense of community here in Georgia. I am alone. I pray all involved in the betrayal which was bound to come to light suffer more than the people who have lost all their kin and companion animals like me.
Sorry will never be enough.
HEY. MY FRIEND FATHER DIED IN HURRICANE KATRINA. WOW, I’LL HAVE TO TELL HIM ABOUT THIS.
Although there were no lives lost for my family who lived there and I was staying with at the time, we lost everything we owned. It was way worse than even what was shown. I with my family left with the clothes on our backs and never went back. RIP all to the lives that were lost. We were lucky.