The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

ORLEANS LEVEE BOARD LAWSUITS

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Mr. Lambert and his co-counsel, Louis R. Koerner, Jr., filed suit against members of the Orleans Levee Board (including the then-president of the Board) for conspiring with private companies (owned by members of the Board president's family) to fix prices in the Orleans Marina and the Southshore Harbor Marina by excluding qualified salvage companies from salvaging privately-owned vessels within the marina.  Mr. Lambert filed suit on behalf of the private vessel owners who were forced to pay exorbitant prices far above market prices in order to salvage their vessels, as well as a second suit on behalf of the excluded qualified salvage companies.  You can read about the cases and read the media reports of the cases below.

 

---

 

VESSEL OWNERS OF THE ORLEANS AND SOUTHSHORE HARBOR MARINAS (PROPOSED CLASS ACTION)

AND

NEW ORLEANS IRON WORKS, ET AL.

 

VERSUS

 

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE ORLEANS LEVEE DISTRICT, ET AL.

 

US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LA

NO. 05-5931; SEC. “R”

 

 

CASE ISSUES & AREAS OF LAW: 

• Katrina Claims

• Class Action Suits

• Civil Rights

• Property Rights

• Anti-trust

• Public corruption

• Public bid laws

 

ABOUT THE CASES

• The proposed class action, which was front page news and was brought in the wake of an FBI investigation, involves an alleged scheme to monopolize the salvage operations in the Orleans Levee Board’s two marinas in the New Orleans area—The Orleans Marina and the South Shore Harbor Marina.

• Levee Board President Jim Huey resigned in the wake of these and other allegations of  wrongdoing and the State of Louisiana completely redesigned the Levee Board system after this lawsuit was filed.

• The proposed class action was settled by Mr. Lambert and his co-counsel, Louis R. Koerner, Jr., Esq., for an undisclosed sum.  

• The suit on behalf of the qualified salvage companies is still ongoing, currently on appeal.

 

MEDIA REPORTS

• Read one of the Times Picayune’s articles on the issue.

• Another Times Picayune article on this issue.

• Another Times Picayune article on this issue.  

 

PLEADINGS & ORDERS OF THE COURT

• Read the Original Class Action Petition filed by Mr. Lambert and Mr. Koerner.

• Read the First Supplemental Petition filed in the case.

• Read the Second Supplemental Complaint filed after the case was transferred to Federal Court.

• Read the Court’s Order & Reasons on the defendants’ failed motions to dismiss.

• Read the memorandum in support of our motion to certify this class action.

• Read the Substituted Third Supplemental Complaint.

• Read our supplemental memorandum in support of class certification.