NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has assigned a mediator to help resolve the estimated $86 million dispute between property owners and the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board over ground-shaking drainage work on four Uptown thoroughfares.
About 215 plaintiffs allege that construction under the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project significantly damaged their homes and businesses.
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune’s Richard A. Webster reports attorney Michael Whitaker, who represents the plaintiffs, estimates the average damage at $400,000.
U.S. District Judge Kurt Englehardt in June signed an order sending the lawsuit to mediation before retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hill, instead of proceeding to trial.
The work, a joint effort of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Sewerage & Water Board, is intended to improve drainage and lessen flooding.
