La. Judge: No Basis for Suit to Make State Sue Insurance Companies

A judge in Baton Rouge, La., threw out a request to make state officials sue insurance companies for hurricane repairs on public property, saying the suit neither named any companies to sue nor listed any specific damaged property.

The suit has no basis in fact or law, and Katrina Justice – a nonprofit agency that filed the lawsuit – could be ordered to pay Louisiana’s legal fees if it continues with the remaining parts of the suit, state District Judge William Morvant said Aug. 9.

New Orleans attorney Margaret Madere, director of Katrina Justice, said afterward that she does not know whether the organization will continue with the lawsuit.

During the hearing, Morvant asked if Katrina Justice knew of any specific instance where a state agency failed to file a claim for hurricane damage.

“I don’t have that information to provide to you,” Madere replied.

Morvant said that if a state attorney had asked him, he probably would have dismissed the entire case or imposed sanctions against Katrina Justice.

The judge told Madere to “think long and hard” about continuing the suit, which named the state of Louisiana and 38 state agencies and officials as defendants.

Information from: The Advocate, www.2theadvocate.com.