Hurricane and Storm Litigation
Louisiana Hurricane Insurance Attorney Defense Law Firm
Keogh Cox has years of experience litigating first-party commercial and personal property claims involving catastrophic losses claimed as a result of hurricanes and other named storms. We have represented various interests in the Attorney General’s Road Home suit, in various mass and class action suits in the In Re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation, and in numerous other hurricane related-suits initiated by individual claimants. We currently represent insurers defending claims following Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida. Our partners John Wolff and Chris Jones were selected by the Western District to participate on the Defense Steering Committee for the Hurricane Laura/Delta litigation. Our lawyers help clients:
- Analyze the scope of coverage
- Provide experts in construction, engineering, meteorology, accounting and other pertinent areas
- Eliminate unsubstantiated or uncovered claims for building damage, contents, business personal property, ALE or business interruption claims
- Avoid the potential for bad faith claims
Our team approach to this area of law provides clients prompt, confident and cost-effective representation.
Recent Experience Highlights
Client Story: Hurricanes Laura/Delta Litigation
Our lawyers represent multiple insurers in actions for residential and commercial property damage in Southwest Louisiana from Hurricanes Laura and/or Delta. Our knowledge of complex construction issues along with Louisiana insurance law has assisted with successful participation in the Streamlined Settlement Process instituted by the United States Western District Court. Our litigation and trial experience has resulted in narrowing claims brought by insureds as well as early resolution of claims.
Client Story: Post-Katrina Litigation
Where we started: Our lawyers represented multiple insurers, insurance brokers and agents in actions for damages caused to residential and commercial property by Hurricane Katrina. Our roadmap: We have handled multiple matters included in this consolidated, natural disaster litigation. Resolution: One of our clients presented Keogh Cox the Peacemaker Award in this litigation for outstanding legal counsel. In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation, Case No. 05-4182 (E.D. La.)
Client Story: Keogh Cox Uses Knowledge of Construction Issues to Advantage in Hurricane Damage Litigation
Where we started: Keogh Cox defended an excess property insurer against a claim for over $10 million in hurricane damage to plaintiff’s properties that included over 50 buildings, as well as alleged bad faith claims, where the initial repair estimates placed the claim value well below the underlying policy limits and the plaintiff’s appraisal and structural engineer’s scope of work were called into serious question. Our roadmap: We used our firm’s talents in handling both insurance bad faith claims and construction issues to develop strong support for our position as to the proper repair scope, and an effective litigation strategy using pre-trial discovery and summary judgment motions to position the case for a favorable settlement. Resolution: After exposing the flaws in the work scope and inconsistencies in plaintiff’s statements regarding the property damage, we were able to obtain a settlement for a fraction of the claimed damages and avoid a trial where the exposure was significant. Plaintiff’s capable attorney commented that our effective approach was uniquely different from the other 600+ hurricane claims he had handled.
More Details about Hurricane & Storm Litigation
In 2007, Keogh Cox was awarded the “Peacemaker Award” by Brown & Brown for our litigation of multiple Katrina lawsuits. This award was presented to us as a result of the dismissals obtained by our firm in all of the hurricane claims asserted against Hull & Company.