[StBernard] One firm responsible for 33 of 39 hurricane suits filed in Orleans Parish in 2011

[Westley Annis]

One firm responsible for 33 of 39 hurricane suits filed in Orleans Parish in
2011 
5/31/2011 9:19 PM By Alejandro de los Rios 
Records at the Orleans Parish Civil District Court indicate that the
Chalmette firm of Sidney Torres III has filed 33 of the 39 hurricane-related
lawsuits in 2011.

The majority of the lawsuits were filed between May 20 and May 31. Eight
lawsuits were filed under Torres' name and another 25 were filed under David
Jarrell, an attorney in Torres' firm.

A majority of the cases indicate that the plaintiffs were former members of
a proposed federal class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Louisiana.

The federal lawsuit came as a result of the flooding allegedly caused when a
barge in the Industrial Canal in New Orleans East was left loose and crashed
into the canal wall during hurricane Katrina. 

The breach of the canal walls resulted in over 14,000 properties being
flooded in the neighborhood.

In May 2009, U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval denied a plaintiff's motion
for class certification for the plaintiffs affected by the Industrial Canal
flood.

Some of the lawsuits filed by Torres' firm in Orleans Parish contain
language designed for multiple plaintiffs, even if only one plaintiff is
named. 

In one case, Keith Reiley vs Underwriters at Lloyds, London, Reiley is
repeatedly referenced as "each plaintiff named herein." A majority of the
cases filed by Torres' firm contained similar language.

All of the lawsuits state that the plaintiff seeks less than $75,000 in
damages.