St. Bernard Parish, La., Considers Suing Insurance Companies

The St. Bernard (Louisiana) Parish Council has hired a Chalmette law firm to explore litigation against two of the parish’s insurers.

Any lawsuit must be filed by Aug. 29, the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

After a brief closed session Aug. 7, the council approved a measure to hire the Tonry and Ginart firm. Councilman Joey DiFatta said under the emergency ordinance, the firm would begin work immediately.

“We can’t rely on the good will of the insurance companies to send us more money if we deserve it,” DiFatta said. “We’ve tried to work with them” but have had little success.

Councilman Lynn Dean said he was concerned about the parish hiring additional lawyers and wondered if litigation, if any, could be handled by the lawyers who already represent parish government. But DiFatta said Tonry and Ginart have experience in such matters, having already represented the St. Bernard Parish School Board in a suit against its insurers.

Information from: The Times-Picayune, www.timespicayune.com.