The trial against the Corps of Engineers related to the role of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) in Hurricane Katrina flooding has concluded. The trial has largely been a classic example of dueling expert witnesses. Plaintiff experts concluded that MRGO played a major role in the flooding after Hurricane Katrina and the Corps experts concluded that MRGO played essentially no role in the flooding after Hurricane Katrina.
The process of preparing and filing post trial briefs will likely take several months with submission of the case to Judge Duval being completed by August. The Judge will then review the evidence and make his decision which will almost inevitably be appealed to the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and even possibly the United States Supreme Court. The ultimate outcome is likely a number of years away.
Nevertheless, the fact that a trial has been held and a trial court decision will likely result is remarkable in itself. Very few cases of this sort get to the point of a trial. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “Making claims against the federal government requires turning square corners.” The lawyers for the plaintiffs in this case seem to have some capacity for “turning square corners.” The outcome of this suit has enormous significance for coastal Louisiana. Many of the legal principles presented by the lawyers for the plaintiffs would also be useful in making other types of claims against the federal government for Louisiana coastal wetland land loss.
Mark Schleifstein has published an article in the New Orleans Times Picayune on Thursday May 14, 2009 at 8:55 PM entitled, MR-GO flooding suit in judge’s hands, which details events at the end of the trial.