Judge Declines Tossing Out Katrina Flooding Suit

GRETNA, La. (AP) — A state judge has declined to dismiss elements of a class-action lawsuit against former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, the parish and its Consolidated Drainage District, for the decision to evacuate drainage pump operators hours before Hurricane Katrina's landfall.

Thousands of properties flooded, because the drainage pumps were shut off on the evening before Katrina's Aug. 29, 2005 landfall, and remained off until pump operators could return more than 12 hours after the storm passed. Property owners sued as a result.

The Times-Picayune reports Judge John Peytavin's ruling leaves it to a Jefferson Parish jury to consider claims as to whether the decision to send the pump operators to Washington Parish amounted to willful misconduct.