Katrina Justice, Inc., a New Orleans not for profit corporation, recently petitioned for a writ of mandamus in the Civil District Court, Parish of New Orleans, State of Louisiana.  The defendants in the civil action include the City of New Orleans, Mayor C. Ray Nagin,  the Orleans Parish School Board and Superintendent Darryl Kilbert, as well as unidentified insurance companies. 

On August 6, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans issued an important decision on the application of Louisiana’s Valued Policy Law (“VPL”) to Katrina losses by unanimously affirming a ruling in favor of insurers. 

Oral arguments on appeal were recently heard on one of the first verdicts handed down in a Katrina-related insurance trial.  Arguments on the appeal of Leonard v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company were heard on August 6 before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

As previously reported here, a Northern District of Alabama judge recently asked federal prosecutors to charge Mississippi plaintiff’s attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs with criminal contempt.  It is alleged that Scruggs violated a preliminary injunction issued in December 2006, which ordered him to turn over all documents secretly copied by two whistleblowers, Corgi Rigsby Moran and Kerri Rigsby.