US Must Make Plans Known In Katrina Flood Suit By Aug. 10

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge in Washington has given U.S. government attorneys until Aug. 10 to say what their next step will be, now that the government has been ruled responsible for some of the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Judge Susan Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims filed an order Wednesday setting the deadline.

Braden recently ruled that a navigation channel built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contributed to flooding caused by Katrina and other hurricanes.

She said the flood damage amounted to an unconstitutional "taking" of property by the government.

Damages have not yet been determined. Braden held a closed-door conference last week in which attorneys discussed the possibility of mediation.