Katrina victim sues for $3 quadrillion

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Federal government hit with 489,000 damage claims after hurricane

NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Katrina's victims have put a price tag on their suffering and it is staggering — including one plaintiff seeking the unlikely sum of $3 quadrillion.

The total number — $3,014,170,389,176,410 — is the dollar figure so far sought from some 489,000 claims filed against the federal government over damage from the failure of levees and flood walls following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane..

[LilacFields]

That particular victim is an idiot and has an idiot for an attorney as well.

At least ask for damages that are realistic.

LF

[DemonWolf]

Originally Posted by LilacFields

That particular victim is an idiot and has an idiot for an attorney as well.

At least ask for damages that are realistic.

LF

Like $3 kajillion?

[bthyb]

Originally Posted by DemonWolf

Like $3 kajillion?

Try $3 Brazilian

[Illuminatus]

Originally Posted by LilacFields

That particular victim is an idiot and has an idiot for an attorney as well.

At least ask for damages that are realistic.

LF

You are allowed to ask for anything you want, but by court rule you must cackle like Dr. Evil when announcing the figure.

[LilacFields]

Can the judge also cackle like Dr. Evil when tossing the case out?

The case may have merit but because of the amount being asked, I'd be inclined to reward the stupidity of the asker by tossing the whole thing. Let him waste someone else's time. Well, I'd do that if I were a judge, anyway.

LF

[Errata]

Maybe its a bargaining tactic. While suing for $3 quadrillion they'll offer to settle for $3 trillion.

[ganzfeld]

Speaking of idiotic lawyers, from the OP:

Daniel Becnel, Jr., a lawyer who said his clients have filed more than 60,000 claims, said measuring Katrina's devastation in dollars and cents is a nearly impossible task.

"There's no way on earth you can figure it out," he said. "The trauma these people have undergone is unlike anything that has occurred in the history of our country."

Talk about someone in need of a history book or five.

[diddy]

Originally Posted by Errata

Maybe its a bargaining tactic. While suing for $3 quadrillion they'll offer to settle for $3 trillion.

If it were a bargaining tactic, I would still say that it is a terrible one to attempt. A lawyer would have to be out if his mind to even think that a suit asking for that would be taken seriously. Heck the aftermath would devistate more people than it would help.

[Griffin2020]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

Speaking of idiotic lawyers, from the OP: Talk about someone in need of a history book or five.

Because, you know, Katrina was the first major hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast, and caused the first relatively localized flooding.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

Speaking of idiotic lawyers, from the OP: Talk about someone in need of a history book or five.

Actually, I do think that the Katrina situation was rather unique in the scale and scope of the devistation that occurred.

I, personally, can't think of another event that happened in the U.S. that was quite that, well, messy on so many levels (all of the dead bodies in the aftermath, the long period of lack of food and water, the mass evacuations and relocations that lead to some really troubling and fascinating local politics, etc.)

[RBCal]

I'd be the last person to defend the federal government's response to Katrina but I personally think that none of the suits have merit.

If you live in a hurricane zone eventually you will have a hurricane hit. I live in an earthquake zone and wouldn't imagine suing the government for damage to my house after an earthquake.

[LilacFields]

They aren't suing over the hurricane itself but over the damages caused by the levy breakage and failure of floodwalls.

It sounds nitpicky but if I recall correctly, some people's insurance refused to cover claims for damage caused by the levy breaking. I guess if they can show that the government was negligent in building/maintaining the levies and flood walls, then they would have a legitimate claim.

Of course, demanding $3 quadrillion is absolutely absurd...

LF

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Originally Posted by LilacFields

Of course, demanding $3 quadrillion is absolutely absurd...

LF

Maybe he owned a lot of rental properties.

I wonder if that 3Quad will turn out to be a typo. The zero-key just got stuck down.

[LilacFields]

Never mind

LF

[Mama Duck]

Originally Posted by RBCal

If you live in a hurricane zone eventually you will have a hurricane hit. I live in an earthquake zone and wouldn't imagine suing the government for damage to my house after an earthquake.

But you would expect that earthquake codes were enforced right? Would you sue if after an earthquake, you find out that the government had stopped enforcing such a code, particularly if it can be proven that code enforcement would have limited the damage?

[ganzfeld]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

Actually, I do think that the Katrina situation was rather unique in the scale and scope of the devistation that occurred.

I, personally, can't think of another event that happened in the U.S. that was quite that, well, messy on so many levels (all of the dead bodies in the aftermath, the long period of lack of food and water, the mass evacuations and relocations that lead to some really troubling and fascinating local politics, etc.)

I would have thought you listened to the blues more than that, Ryda.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_M..._Flood_of_1927

Not that these are the only "messy" events on a large scale that left lots of dead bodies to clean up. I mean, there was this little matter of the Civil War, for one, among other events. Katrina was terrible but not particularly unique except that maybe it was the first time Geraldo and Sean Penn went to the scene.

Here's another hurricane, much worse:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane

[Mama Duck]

In 1995, New Orleans flooded from rain water, prompting pumping system updates. Before that, there was Hurricane Camille that wiped out South West Louisiana in 1969 and practically stranded New Orleans for a few days. Before that, Hurrican Betsy killed dozens of people in New Orleans and caused over a billion dollars in damaged, but the levies held. Before that, New Orleans was subject to yellow fever epidemics and fires that razed the city at least twice. About every 25-50 years, New Orleans gets the sh*t kicked out of it through something.

[Aimee Evilpixie]

Originally Posted by ganzfeld

I would have thought you listened to the blues more than that, Ryda.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_M..._Flood_of_1927

Not that these are the only "messy" events on a large scale that left lots of dead bodies to clean up. I mean, there was this little matter of the Civil War, for one, among other events. Katrina was terrible but not particularly unique except that maybe it was the first time Geraldo and Sean Penn went to the scene.

Here's another hurricane, much worse:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Hurricane

The thing is, Katrina should not have been such a disaster. We had the technology to see that the storm was coming and that it was going to be bad. There were warnings about the levees being insufficient. Hell, we had helicopters and stuff that could have been used immediately after the hurricane subsided to start getting people out or supplies in.

That didn't happen, though. This was entirely preventable with our current technology, but no one really cared until too late, in my opinion.

[RBCal]

Originally Posted by Mama Duck

But you would expect that earthquake codes were enforced right? Would you sue if after an earthquake, you find out that the government had stopped enforcing such a code, particularly if it can be proven that code enforcement would have limited the damage?

I'd sue the builder since he skimped on construction. I guess the government is the builder of the levee so perhaps the suits might have some merit.

However, if I were to live in New Orleans I wouldn't have purchased in a neighborhood subject to flooding. The French Quarter didn't flood since its on higher ground. It was built before there were levees.