Posted February 17, 2012

We have two updates to report today.

Insurance Money:

We want to again make it clear that there is no insurance money that is about to be distributed to class members.

Background: OPSB is still seeking approximately $200 million from its insurers for various damages which it sustained relative to Hurricane Katrina.  To date, OPSB has received at least $25 million from its insurers for Katrina damages (and the OPSB and the State of Louisiana are trying to divide these proceeds between them).  We are attempting to make claims for the remaining money so that it can go to our class members.  There is still no court ruling. We are continuing our efforts.

As a result of our filings in court, the Judge issued a stay order on all insurance matters. The new development is that yesterday (February 16, 2012), the Judge extended this stay order through March 2, 2012, pending hearings that will take place in early March. We urge everyone to regularly check this website for updates and information.

Deadline to submit post-trial submissions in the Oliver case:

The Plaintiffs and the Orleans Parish School Board have requested two additional weeks to file post-trial submissions. The Judge has granted the request.

As a result of the extension, the deadline for the lawyers in the case to file post-trial submissions is March 2, 2012.

The Judge will issue her decision after the post-trial submissions are filed. This does not mean that the decision will be made on March 2, 2012. There is no timetable.

We urge everyone to regularly check this website for updates and information. And…as we have been saying all along…if you hear any rumors PLEASE verify the information on the website. If it isn’t on the website, it probably isn’t accurate.

UPDATE POSTED JANUARY 25, 2012

The Court has completed the written transcript of the testimony of all persons who testified at trial.

The Judge has given the attorneys a deadline – February 17, 2012 – to file the final post-trial positions.

Following that, the Judge will issue her ruling. There is no timetable.

We urge everyone to regularly check this website for updates and information. And…as we have been saying all along…if you hear any rumors, PLEASE verify the information on the website. If it isn’t on the website, it probably isn’t accurate.

UPDATE POSTED JANUARY 6, 2012

There has been some confusion surrounding the issue of OPSB’s insurance coverage for its Katrina losses. We hope this website post clears some of that confusion.

First, we want to make it clear that there is no insurance money that is about to be distributed to class members.

The OPSB has been and is still seeking approximately $200 million dollars from its insurers for various damages which it sustained relative to Hurricane Katrina.  To date, the OPSB has received approximately $25 million from its insurers for Katrina damages (and the OPSB and the State of Louisiana are trying to divide these proceeds between them).  We are attempting to make claims for this money so that it can go to our class members.  However, there is no court ruling as of now, and at this time there are no proceeds for class members.  We will continue in our efforts.

It is important to understand that the OPSB’s insurers strongly dispute that the OPSB has coverage for, or is entitled to, any of the remaining $200 million.  In essence, the OPSB’s insurers claim that they owe NOTHING to the OPSB.  Thus, THERE IS CURRENTLY NO MONEY GOING TO THE OPSB OTHER THAN SOME PORTION OF THE $25 MILLION.  Moreover, there is a strong likelihood that the OPSB’s insurers will continue to maintain this position unless and until a Court or a Jury determines otherwise.  The trial relative to the OPSB’s Katrina insurance claims will not occur until the fall of 2012, at the earliest time. 

As previously posted, we have brought a “Petition for Intervention” in the OPSB’s lawsuit against its insurance companies.  We did this in order to make claims for actual and potential insurance proceeds which the OPSB has received and/or may receive in the future from its insurance companies relative to the OPSB’s Katrina claims. This could include Business Interruption insurance and seven (7) months of unpaid payroll, from August of 2005 until March 24, 2006. 

The OPSB filed several different “exceptions” or procedural objections in response to our “Petition for Intervention” claiming, among other things, that we have no right and no claim to intervene in the OPSB’s case against its insurance companies.  Recently, in December of 2011, the Judge in OPSB’s Katrina insurance case ruled on these “exceptions.”  In summary, the Judge ruled that we do have the right and have stated a proper claim to intervene in the OPSB’s Katrina insurance case.  However, the Judge also ruled that our current case (Oliver, et al. v. OPSB, et al.), which is before Judge Julien, should cover our claims to these actual/potential OPSB Katrina insurance proceeds.  As such, we were not allowed to intervene in the OPSB’s Katrina insurance case at this time, but the Judge stated he may reconsider our intervention claim after a judgment is rendered in the Oliver case.  We have filed the motion to have these two cases consolidated and we will hopefully have a decision in the near future.

To be clear, ALL THIS MEANS IS THAT WE MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BRING THE INTERVENTION IN OUR CURRENT CASE (Oliver, et al. v. OPSB, et al.) OR AT A FUTURE DATE IN THE OPSB’s KATRINA INSURANCE CASE.  IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE ARE ENTITLED TO ANY OF THE INSURANCE PROCEEDS WHICH THE OPSB HAS RECEIVED OR WHICH IT MAY RECEIVE.  THAT DETERMINATION WOULD COME AT FUTURE TIME. 

We will of course continue to post new developments on this website as they occur. We urge everyone to regularly check the website.

UPDATE POSTED DECEMBER 5, 2011

Ever since our lawsuit was filed, the Orleans Parish School Board has claimed that it didn’t have the financial ability to pay salaries or benefits to employees after Hurricane Katrina. However, the Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee has now learned that in August of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit, the Orleans Parish School Board had several insurance policies.  Several of these insurance policies provided coverage for property damage and “business interruption.”

Typically, “business interruption” insurance policies provide employers with compensation to cover payment of salary due to employees.

 The Orleans Parish School Board failed to disclose to us and to the Court that it had these business interruption insurance policies.

Moreover, we have learned that OPSB never made a claim for employee salaries in these insurance policies.

The Orleans Parish School Board has filed suit against several of these insurance companies (many of you may have read about their lawsuit in the Times-Picayune) seeking money for among other things, property damage and business interruption.

We contend that at the least, these policies cover your salary from August 26, 2005 (the date when everyone was last paid) until March 24, 2006, when everyone in the class action was formally terminated in writing by the OPSB). As a result, we have filed a “Petition to Intervene” in OPSB’s lawsuit against their insurance companies, asking the Court to declare that your claims for salary are covered by OPSB’s business interruption insurance policies, and asking the Court not to allow the insurance companies to distribute the insurance money to anyone else until your claims for unpaid salary are considered.

If we are successful, it could mean that there would possibly be insurance money to cover salary from August 29, 2005 through March 24, 2006. 

Having said that, we anticipate that there will now be rumors that “we have settled the case” or that “everyone will receive salary from August 29, 2005 through March 24, 2006. So we want to be perfectly clear:

 · We are asking the court to rule that the business interruption insurance must cover this claim for salary. We have not yet received a ruling.

· We have not settled the case.  This new information has nothing to do with any settlement, and if you hear any rumors about settlement, they are untrue. Moreover, because this is a class action, the case cannot be “settled” until we send Notice of a Proposed Settlement to the class, and class members have the opportunity to comment.

 · We are still pursuing damages beginning with August 29, 2005, with no end date. All this email states is that at a minimum, we contend that the insurance policies should cover the time period August 29, 2005 through March 24, 2006.

Update on transcript: The Court has told attorneys for all parties that post-trial filings are due three weeks after the transcript has been completed. The transcript has not yet been completed.