Use of Private Lawyers Questioned in Former La. AG’s Katrina Case

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U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval has asked Louisiana’s commissioner of administration to review the validity of private attorneys’ contracts to represent the state attorney general in a case over the state’s Road Home hurricane recovery program.

Duval said insurance company attorneys “persuasively” raised questions about whether former Attorney General Charles Foti followed state law when he hired private lawyers to work the case. The commissioner has 45 days to decide whether the contracts were valid. If the commissioner finds them faulty, the judge said, he will remove the lawyers.

Road Home grants were meant to help repair damage not covered by insurance. Before leaving office, Foti sued insurance companies for any payments that might have reduced Road Home grants. He appointed seven law firms to handle the suit.

The insurance companies don’t have legal standing to challenge the attorneys either on behalf of the state agencies or the plaintiff class, Duval wrote. “The most prudent course, however, is not to ignore this issue,” and the commissioner of administration is the proper person to decide, he said.

The insurers asked Duval to disqualify the lawyers due to possible conflicts of interest. He rejected that, noting that named Road Home claimants agreed with those attorneys to waive any conflict of interest caused by the state contract.