La. court to hear 2005 hurricane cases

The Louisiana Supreme Court scheduled two hurricane-related cases that could affect thousands of insurance claims related to storms Katrina and Rita.

The first case pits 92-year old Joseph Sher against the Lafayette Insurance Co.

Sher claims damage to his four-unit rental property during the 2005 storms should have been covered because of the failure of man-made flood-control structures, The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans reported.

The second case involves Mark and Barbara Laundry's claim that a 108-year old value policy state law requires insurance companies to pay full value of their destroyed home, even though their policy stipulated they had coverage for wind but not flood damage.

Lower courts have ruled that damage done by multiple forces, such as wind and flood, are covered, although the value policy law mentions only fire protection, the paper reported.

The Sher case could alter payments to plaintiffs listed in state Attorney General Charles Foti's case against 168 insurance companies, analysts said.

I would think the attorney general's suit would rise or fall on how the Supreme Court comes out on the Sher case, Tulane Law School Dean Edward Sherman told The Times-Picayune.

The cases are to be argued Tuesday.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International