Created by ghwlegal on April 28th, 2010 at 12:32pm PST
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James Williams
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GHW Hurricane Katrina Lawsuits
uploaded by GHWLEGAL at youtube.com
James Williams of Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams discusses possible Katrina lawsuits.
James Williams on Insurance Policy Interpretation
uploaded by GHWLEGAL at youtube.com
September 12, 2007 - Attorney James Williams of the law firm Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams, comments to reporters following the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' hearing on interpretation of a provision attempting to exclude coverage for flooding from the levee breach following Hurricane Katrina.
Louisiana Appeals Court Sides With Homeowners
uploaded by GHWLEGAL at youtube.com
An insurance company should have paid for Hurricane Katrina damage to a policyholder's home because it's unclear what types of flood damage were excluded from coverage by its homeowner policies, a state appeals court ruled Monday.
The law firm Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams said the ruling affects hundreds of thousands of policy holders in Louisiana whose homes were flooded as a result of Katrina.
"The Louisiana courts are the proper courts to be interpreting state law and today's ruling could have ramifications for lawsuits pending in federal court," said attorney James Williams, who argued on behalf of Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti's office.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal upheld a state judge's ruling that Lafayette Insurance Co.'s policy failed to exclude all forms of flooding because its language was ambiguous.
"Lafayette failed to specifically exclude all floods because of the ambiguity contained within the water exclusion," Judge Terri Love wrote in a 53-page majority opinion.
The Fourth Circuit sided with policyholder Joseph Sher, who blamed much of the water damage to his property on water from levee failures in New Orleans following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
Louisiana Supreme Court Hears Flood Exclusion Arguments
uploaded by GHWLEGAL at youtube.com
Katrina, Rita, flood, insuranceOn February 26, 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court heard arguments in Sher v. Lafayette Insurance Company, et al. At issue: whether a homeowners flood exclusion extends to damages from floodwaters originating from a levee break. Gauthier, Houghtaling and Williams submitted an amicus brief to the state's highest court and attorney James Williams argued on behalf of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office when the case was before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. The case has major implications for Louisiana residents and the Road Home program. Williams argued that the insurance industry requested a clarification of their exclusion in 2004, pre-Katrina, to specifically state that manmade causes were excluded, thus proving that the industry knew its exclusion was subject to varying interpretations. Only two insurance companies revised their exclusion before Katrina struck. James Williams discussed the issue on a local news station.
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