New Orleans sues Army Corps of Engineers for $77 Billion

Saturday, March 03, 2007

The City of New Orleans has joined big business and thousands of local homeowners seeking compensation from the Army Corps of Engineers for damages sustained when the levves broke during Hurricane Katrina in late August of 2005, flooding over 80% of the city.

The claims allege that poor design and negligence by the corps led to the failure of the levees.

Only $1 billion of the $77 billion the city is seeking from the Army Corps of Engineers is for infrastructure damages it says it suffered because of levee breaches during Hurricane Katrina. The rest is for such things as the city's tarnished image and the loss of tourism dollars.

"We looked at everything and just kind of piled it on. We got some advice from some attorneys to be aggressive with the number, and we'll see what happens." Mayor Ray Nagin said.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Nagin's office could not explain how the city quantified losses not tied to infrastructure. A 43 page form filed with the corps, reserving the city's right to sue for $77 billion, also provides little insight. It does not quantify "loss of tax revenue," for example, and supporting documents for city-owned properties, such as a police crime lab and libraries, omit any estimates of property values or flood-related damages, The Times-Picayune newspaper reported Saturday.