Michael Kunzelman

November 09, 2007 | National Law Journal

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti is suing the state's largest property insurance companies, accusing insurers of conspiring to limit payments to policyholders after hurricanes Katrina and Rita and engaging in an elaborate price-fixing scheme.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

February 01, 2010 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - Johnny Angel opened the door to his old, brick-faced duplex and saw them all there, typing away quietly on their computers just days before their hidden-camera stunt in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's district office."Man, it was laptop city in this place," said Angel, known locally as the front man for the swing band Johnny Angel and the Swinging Demons.

By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, JUSTIN PRITCHARD and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

8 minute read

October 27, 2008 | Daily Report Online

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

4 minute read

April 08, 2008 | National Law Journal

A group of Mississippi attorneys once affiliated with tort lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs is barred from representing any policyholders in lawsuits against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. over Hurricane Katrina damage, a federal judge has ruled, citing ethical breaches. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. also disqualified two key witnesses, Cori and Kerri Rigsby, from testifying against State Farm or their former employer, a firm that helped the insurer adjust Katrina claims.

By Michael Kunzelman

4 minute read

December 28, 2011 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - When the Federal Emergency Management Agency mailed out 83,000 debt notices this year to victims of Hurricane Katrina and other 2005 storms, one of the letters showed up in David Bellinger's mailbox. Bellinger, who is blind, needed a friend to read it and break the news that FEMA wants him to pay back more than $3,200 in federal aid he received after Katrina.

By Michael Kunzelman

6 minute read

June 23, 2010 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - The Louisiana judge who struck down the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, according to financial disclosure reports. He's also a new member of a secret national security court.U.

By CURT ANDERSON and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

6 minute read

February 26, 2013 | Daily Report Online

A University of California-Berkeley engineer who played a prominent role in investigating levee breeches in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to be the first witness Tuesday at a trial involving another Gulf Coast catastrophe: the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

By Michael Kunzelman

6 minute read

July 09, 2012 | Daily Report Online

A former Mississippi attorney asked a federal appeals court Monday to vacate his 2008 guilty plea in a judicial bribery case that also resulted in a prison sentence for his once-powerful father and law partner, plaintiffs' lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

April 17, 2007 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - Attorneys say a federal jury that awarded more than $2.8 million to a man who lost his home to Hurricane Katrina sends a strong message to insurers who refused to pay thousands of other homeowners for damage from the storm."Insurers should worry about taking any case to a jury," said David Rossmiller, a Portland, Ore.

By Michael Kunzelman

5 minute read

April 09, 2008 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - An insurance company isn't obligated to pay for water damage from the failure of New Orleans area levees after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana's highest court ruled Tuesday in a case that could affect thousands of homeowners.In a major victory for insurers, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed a state appeals court decision that favored New Orleans property owner Joseph Sher in his suit against Lafayette Insurance Co.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

4 minute read