Judge Denies Katrina Flood Claim

By William Murphy

Published on August 17, 2006

Police Lt. Paul Leonard and his wife Julie sued Nationwide in July, contending that when they purchased their policy, insurance agent Jay Fletcher assured them that it covered all hurricane damage. They sued to recover for damages they said cost them more than $130,000, including more than $47,000 in wind damage. Nationwide paid them $1,661 for wind-caused damage and attributed all other damages to the storm surge.

Judge Senter did award the Leonards an additional $1,228 for wind-caused damage. In denying their claim for flood damages, Judge Senter said that the Leonards were bound by the terms of their policy regardless of any erroneous interpretations they may have made of the policy or any incorrect inferences they may have drawn from conversations with their insurance agent.

The Leonards were represented by Attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who is representing other Katrina plaintiffs in lawsuits against several insurance companies. Among Scruggs's clients is his brother-in-law, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), whose Pascagoula home was destroyed in the hurricane. Scruggs claimed victory in the Leonards' case, saying that although the Leonards did not win as much money as hoped, they had won the case.

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