Posts Tagged ‘ Army Corps of Engineers ’

5 Lawyer Quotes we loved from 2009

December 27th, 2009. By AbiK

Memorable, thought-provoking, grounded in principle—and one that capped off an emotional trial in New Orleans and marked a victory long overdue—the following are some quotes from attorneys we interviewed in 2009…(in no particular order)…

1. Ron Goldman, Baum, Hedlund Aristei & Goldman:

On plane crash lawsuits…

“The ultimate objective of every member of the plaintiff’s aviation bar that I know who regularly handles aviation cases, is to reveal the dangers in aircraft and in the aviation system to enhance the safety of aviation,” Goldman says. “That’s our major objective. It’s not just about getting an award for the plaintiffs, it’s about making aviation safer.” 

2. Michael Levine: RappaportGlassGreen & Levine:  

On personal injury lawsuits…

“I always tell my clients, just tell it like it is,” says Levine. “I have told my clients two and a half million times that there is no substitute for the truth. The truth never hurts you.”

3. Andrew Stoltmann, Stoltmann Law Offices:

On stockbrokers who pilfer money from their clients…when it comes to arguing his case to recover money, Stoltmann says he goes down his four-letter checklist (aka “SCUM”): 

S – was the investment suitable for the client given their age and risk tolerance

C – was the investor’s account churned or repeatedly rolled over in order to earn fees for the broker

U – were the trades and changes in the account unauthorized

M – were the risks and type of investment misrepresented to the client

On the stockbrokers themselves: “How can they sleep at night?” says Stoltmann. “They sleep very nicely in their mansions.” 

4. Joseph M. Bruno, the Law Office of Joseph M. Bruno:

On the federal court ruling that the Army Corp of Engineers which built the canal linking New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, was to blame for the catastrophic flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina… 

“The people of New Orleans are vindicated,” said Bruno before a throng of media representatives. “They (the Army Corps of Engineers) can no longer hide behind an immunity. It is time for the people of this city to be compensated.”

5. Norah Hart, Treuhaft & Zakarin:

On the high percentage of Match.com profiles that were allegedly still shown as “reachable” even though the profiles did not belong to active subscribers…

“A simple analogy is—I sell you a six pack of ginger ale and two of the cans are empty,” says Hart. “If I sold you six cans and you believe that all six are the same, but they are not. Four of them are what you are looking for and two of them are empty—now how do you feel about that?”

Tags: Andrew Stoltmann, Army Corps of Engineers, Joseph Bruno, Lawyers, match.com, Michael Levine, Norah Hart, Personal Injury, plane crash, Ron Goldman, Stockbroker Fraud
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Army Corps of Engineers gets “F” for Katrina

November 19th, 2009. By AbiK

The folks who lived through Katrina probably have a few other “F’s” to toss in the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers as well. But the “F” I’m talking about is for “Failure”—failure to prevent devastation…failure to properly maintain the navigation channel that flooded…failure to take action when they knew damn well there was a problem and it was inevitable that a disaster like Katrina would happen.

Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr’s ruling that the corps’ failure to properly maintain a navigation channel thereby leading to massive floods came with some harsh words:

“It is the court’s opinion that the negligence of the corps, in this instance by failing to maintain the MR-GO properly, was not policy, but insouciance, myopia and shortsightedness.”

Take that, ACOE.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the lawyers involved in the case at Mass Torts Made Perfect in Las Vegas—John Andry. I have to admit, it had been a while since I really thought about Katrina or its victims—heck, I live on the other side of the country and well, as with most disasters (and most people), if it hasn’t affected you directly, you sadly forget. And you never really understand first-hand what the victims must have endured. So that’s why this lawyer, John Andry, intrigued me. You couldn’t help getting swept up in how he was describing the way things happened with Katrina…how it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Andry drew diagrams for me, explained the devastation, shared the stories of family and friends he personally knows who lost everything. See, Andry’s a local boy—not some out-of-towner who just comes in on a ego trip because he knew the case would generate a lot of press. No, this guy actually teared up as he was telling me and my colleague, Michelle, about the case. With him, this Katrina disaster is personal—and it shows.

Talking with Andry was a good reminder that those who were affected by Katrina are still living with Katrina—and always will be. This ruling, while a landmark one and one that will clear the way for others to seek damages, will never take away their loss. But at least now there is finally some accountability.

Tags: ACOE, Army Corps of Engineers, John Andry, Katrina
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