Katrina flood case gets class-action status

NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge who ruled last year that the federal government is responsible for some of the flooding that hit the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina has granted class-action status in the case.

The order means numerous property owners – not just the handful in the original lawsuit – could be in line for compensation.

How much money and how many properties could eventually be involved wasn’t immediately clear.

Wednesday’s ruling by Judge Susan Braden in Washington had some specifics, spelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in storm-related costs on specific properties and saying the city of New Orleans should recoup real estate taxes, currently estimated at $2.5 million.

The case centers on flooding in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish blamed on the now-closed Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.