Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Entergy in Wake of Hurricane Ida
A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against Entergy in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
The storm left nearly one million people without power and in the dark, but several attorneys believe that Entergy failed to protect its system.
17 Entergy customers are part of the lawsuit, with more expected to join in. They are accusing the company of "grossly inadequate maintenance and lying to the city, the state and its customers."
New Orleans attorney Juan Lafonta is one of several attorneys who filed the suit. He told New Orleans TV station WGNO that Entergy "chose profits over the people they serve."
"If you're going to make money off of this city, you damn sure better give the deliverables," he added.
The group of lawyers believes the utility company created a system that failed because of gross negligence of its equipment.
The suit alleges that Entergy did not invest money from its customers to "harden the system" by burying utilities or by making sure there were proper backup systems. An Entergy transmission tower collapsed and seven other transmission towers failed during the storm.
“Where we’re located, they were not supposed to come down with that type of wind gusts,” Lafonta said. “You have almost a half-a-billion dollars and you’re telling me that this rusted system is robust and the ratepayers of New Orleans should continue to pay for you to make those kinds of profits without any accountability? That’s not going to happen.”
The attorneys say that Entergy needs to be held accountable for uninhabitable homes, mold and mildew as well as the wrongful death of at least 10 people because of the power outages.
WGNO reached out to Entergy for comment but has yet to hear back.