[StBernard] St. Bernard Council hires law firm

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Council hires law firm
Posted by St. Bernard bureau August 08, 2007 11:49AM
With the deadline to sue insurance companies over hurricane damage claims
looming, the St. Bernard Parish Council has hired a Chalmette law firm to
explore litigation against two of the parish's insurers. 
The council emerged from a brief closed session Tuesday and 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 (the
insurance companies)" but have had little success. 
Any lawsuit must be filed by Aug. 29, which is the second anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina. 
Councilman Lynn Dean said he was concerned with the parish hiring additional
lawyers and wondered if the potential litigation 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. 
Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez, whose administration proposed
hiring the attorneys for possible litigation, said in a news release that
St. Bernard has received about $9 million from insurance companies for wind
damage to buildings when the parish estimated the damage was about $40
million. 
"The parish faces the same dilemma as homeowners" who believed they were
owed more by insurance companies and many had to resort to litigation,
Rodriguez said. 
In the same news release, Councilman Craig Taffaro Jr. said parish
government won't owe the lawyers any money unless additional insurance money
is received by the parish. Parish officials did not say how much the firm
would be paid if litigation results in more insurance money to the parish.