well duh! how many of those folks bought things like diamonds and plasma tv's with their Katrina money? Many people got money that rightfully wasn't theirs.

The bid invitation said: "The average amount to be collected is estimated to be approximately $35,000, but in some cases may be as high as $100,000 to $150,000."

Good luck.

By this logic dumbya and dick need to pay back all their salary for the past 7 years.

They are grossly overpaid asshats.

Trixie_Belden: well duh! how many of those folks bought things like diamonds and plasma tv's with their Katrina money? Many people got money that rightfully wasn't theirs.

This is not about the FEMA checks and debit cards that went out in a rush after the storm. This is about the Road Home program, which is supposed to provide assistance to homeowners trying to rebuild. It is a clusterfark largely due to the ineptitude of Kathleen Blanco. Those two things are completely different.

The strip joints and blow dealers in Atlanta stand firm
and refuse to negotiate...

That should be Katrina "victims", please.

Oh, great. Another opportunity to queue up the "fark New Orleans" dumbtards for another circle jerk of idiot bile. I knew there was something missing from my weekend.

The reason Louisiana continues to have these problems, and Mississippi does not? Political leadership; and that cuts across party lines. I feel bad for my neighbors and friends in Louisiana.

Good luck getting that back. It might be more cost effective to just let them keep it, fire all senior officials who mishandled the rescue and rebuilding, and then give some of the more qualified victims their positions.

Not to say those people should keep that money, but when will the gov't get reimbursed for all those private contractors in Iraq who overcharged our government by hundreds of millions? Since Brownies' response to Katrina was poor to start out, this is karma kicking their inept butts right back.

Spreadhead: The reason Louisiana continues to have these problems, and Mississippi does not? Political leadership; and that cuts across party lines. I feel bad for my neighbors and friends in Louisiana.

I have to admit, when Nagin got re-elected post Katrina I lost a measure of sympathy.

Dr.Knockboots: The bid invitation said: "The average amount to be collected is estimated to be approximately $35,000, but in some cases may be as high as $100,000 to $150,000."

Good luck.

No kidding. The government doesn't have the first farking clue about what ultimately became of many Katrina victims.

Fark them. I wouldn't pay back a single farking cent.

skinink: Not to say those people should keep that money, but when will the gov't get reimbursed for all those private contractors in Iraq who overcharged our government by hundreds of millions?

"I'm a 22-year-old jackass with a MySpace page. Can I haz a 300 million dollar arms deal, plz?"

I Said: Spreadhead: The reason Louisiana continues to have these problems, and Mississippi does not? Political leadership; and that cuts across party lines. I feel bad for my neighbors and friends in Louisiana.

I have to admit, when Nagin got re-elected post Katrina I lost a measure of sympathy.

At least Blanco saw the writing on the wall and didn't run for re-election. We got rid of her, which, when it comes to the problems with the Road Home, is a huge step in the right direction.

I Said: Spreadhead: The reason Louisiana continues to have these problems, and Mississippi does not? Political leadership; and that cuts across party lines. I feel bad for my neighbors and friends in Louisiana.

I have to admit, when Nagin got re-elected post Katrina I lost a measure of sympathy.

The tragedy is that New Orleans is such a treasure; it is the most unique big city in the country.

Spreadhead: The reason Louisiana continues to have these problems, and Mississippi does not? Political leadership; and that cuts across party lines. I feel bad for my neighbors and friends in Louisiana.

How many major cities in Mississippi were underwater and had entire Burroughs left uninhabitable to this day?
almost everyone in Mississippi had property to go back to. to rebuild on.
these people lost everything. their homes, their possessions,their property(land) their jobs,their neighborhoods.
they were displaced and moved out of state and set up in trailer cities.

Don't even try to equate the two. And pointing out that the red states got better treatment than a blue states at the federal level doesn't help your argument.

I am an attorney who has handled hundreds of insurance claims and lawsuits following Hurricane Katrina.

I suspect that what is going on here is that Road Home is AFTER THE FACT going to assert its right to reimbursement from the homeowner of any insurance proceeds for the property's structure. The grant documents give them this right; but for the longest time the agency did nothing to protect its rights whenever a recipient had a claim or lawsuit. Some people probably had the impression the agency would never find out, or try to recoup the proceeds.

They do have the legal right to these proceeds. However, the fact that they did nothing to assert any interest in the proceeds BEFORE the insurance monies were received, and now that they are all spent, is nothing short of ridiculous; and completely consistent with the idiotic behavior of this program from its start.

Nabb1: At least Blanco saw the writing on the wall and didn't run for re-election. We got rid of her, which, when it comes to the problems with the Road Home, is a huge step in the right direction.

Very true. But I would think that, as much as the people of LA could, they'd either educate the shiat out of themselves on who did what to help or just vote out all incumbents.

Spreadhead: The tragedy is that New Orleans is such a treasure; it is the most unique big city in the country.

It is. I've been to a decent number of cities here in the States and abroad, and I have told everyone that "NO is the ONLY city I've been to that IMO rivals NYC for a good time".

LIBERALS!!!

/obligatory

Spent they money on TVs, strippers, jewelery, bling, etc.
Too bad they didn't save it to help meet their housing needs.

Screw Nawlins. It was and is a wasteland.

Hobodeluxe: Spreadhead: The reason Louisiana continues to have these problems, and Mississippi does not? Political leadership; and that cuts across party lines. I feel bad for my neighbors and friends in Louisiana.

How many major cities in Mississippi were underwater and had entire Burroughs left uninhabitable to this day?
almost everyone in Mississippi had property to go back to. to rebuild on.
these people lost everything. their homes, their possessions,their property(land) their jobs,their neighborhoods.
they were displaced and moved out of state and set up in trailer cities.

Don't even try to equate the two. And pointing out that the red states got better treatment than a blue states at the federal level doesn't help your argument.

You don't know what you're talking about. This would be a good place for you to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_Mississippi

Tens of thousands of homes were completely destroyed by Katrina in Mississippi. Was it on a smaller scale than in New Orleans? Yes, to some degree. But complete destruction is complete destruction, whether it happened in Louisiana or Mississippi.

vabeard: Spent they money on TVs, strippers, jewelery, bling, etc.
Too bad they didn't save it to help meet their housing needs.

you are failing at reading comprehension: Road Home money WAS spent on housing needs. If you had a mortgage, moreover, you could not just cash the check, because the mortgage company was a payee on the check. The money was stuck into an escrow account and very slowly doled out as you provided estimates and receipts for work completed.

Spreadhead: Tens of thousands of homes were completely destroyed by Katrina in Mississippi. Was it on a smaller scale than in New Orleans? Yes, to some degree. But complete destruction is complete destruction, whether it happened in Louisiana or Mississippi.

I was in Charleston for and after Hugo. The damage in Mississippi was a lot like that in the Charleston area - heavy destruction on the coastal area from storm surge. The damage in New Orleans was quite different. Both were devastated, but comparing the two really is comparing apples and oranges.

If they were using it to rebuild, I'd feel bad.

But they'd rather wait until another celebrity shows up to do their work for them.

Given the track record of first FINDING Katrina victims, and second getting them any money, I have the feeling getting any money back is going to take years, if not decades.

mama's_tasty_foods: vabeard: Spent they money on TVs, strippers, jewelery, bling, etc.
Too bad they didn't save it to help meet their housing needs.

you are failing at reading comprehension: Road Home money WAS spent on housing needs. If you had a mortgage, moreover, you could not just cash the check, because the mortgage company was a payee on the check. The money was stuck into an escrow account and very slowly doled out as you provided estimates and receipts for work completed.

yes, but they didn't save the money from FEMA to help with their housing needs.

Gyrfalcon: Given the track record of first FINDING Katrina victims, and second getting them any money, I have the feeling getting any money back is going to take years, if not decades.

Why do I bother with these threads? They just drive up my blood pressure. READ THE ARTICLE. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FEMA CHECKS OR THE DEBIT CARDS. THIS IS ABOUT GRANTS TO HOMEOWNERS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH A STATE PROGRAM.

mmagdalene:
"I'm a 22-year-old jackass with a MySpace page. Can I haz a 300 million dollar arms deal, plz?"


Does that infuriate you like it infuriates me? I can't get over it. I'm so pissed off about that. Seriously, so incredibly pissed off.

In perspective, all 300 million Americans gave those little punks $1.

Would you give me $1 right now? I certainly farking hope not.

What can we do? Is this a fluke?

vabeard: yes, but they didn't save the money from FEMA to help with their housing needs.

Do you even know what the Road Home program is or know anyone who received Road Home funds?

Incoming generalizations, thinly veiled racism, and "it didn't happen to me and I live in tornado territory, not hurricane coastlands, so fark em" idiocy.

Nabb1: Gyrfalcon: Given the track record of first FINDING Katrina victims, and second getting them any money, I have the feeling getting any money back is going to take years, if not decades.

Why do I bother with these threads? They just drive up my blood pressure. READ THE ARTICLE. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FEMA CHECKS OR THE DEBIT CARDS. THIS IS ABOUT GRANTS TO HOMEOWNERS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH A STATE PROGRAM.
It is frustrating, isn't it? The thousands of New Orleanians who are trying to rebuild their lives and their city deserve our support.

12.fl.oz.: mama's_tasty_foods: I am an attorney who has handled hundreds of insurance claims and lawsuits following Hurricane Katrina.

I suspect that what is going on here is that Road Home is AFTER THE FACT going to assert its right to reimbursement from the homeowner of any insurance proceeds for the property's structure. The grant documents give them this right; but for the longest time the agency did nothing to protect its rights whenever a recipient had a claim or lawsuit. Some people probably had the impression the agency would never find out, or try to recoup the proceeds.

They do have the legal right to these proceeds. However, the fact that they did nothing to assert any interest in the proceeds BEFORE the insurance monies were received, and now that they are all spent, is nothing short of ridiculous; and completely consistent with the idiotic behavior of this program from its start.

So do they have a legal entitlement to the money?

As the post by me that you quoted says, "They do have the legal right to these proceeds." If Road Home gives you $20,000, and your insurance company later paid you $20,000 for damage to the structure of your property (as opposed to payments for contents and additional living expenses), RH gets that money.

I was mystified, while claims and lawsuits were going on (as they are to this day), why Road Home did not assert its rights. They could and should have put the insurance companies on notice of their rights but did nothing. I will say that now, finally, 3 years after the hurricane, they ARE getting their reimbursement on cases that are pending in the system.

Still, it is ridiculous that they sat on their rights when asserting them would have been simple, and now will go after people for millions of dollars they could easily have gotten on the front end for little cost.

As for seeking reimbursement for people who were simply not eligible for benefits at all-- I obviously have less sympathy for such people, but still if the money was disbursed and spent it's hard to see what RH can expect to get out of this. They will be lucky to collect pennies on the dollar.

Friend of mine received $15k from the government after losing everything(He was in Pascagoula, lived about 5 miles from the Gulf).

About 3 months ago, they wanted him to pay back $20k citing an overpayment and interest.

Also, Spreadhead, don't bother telling people that some place other than NO got hit. That's the only place a good majority of the people think for some reason got destroyed by Katrina. Nevermind the fact that my old town isn't even on the map anymore.

Additionally, for the one guy who says "They should of known better than to live there when hurricanes hit all the time" there's no place in the US that is safe from a disaster. Flooding, forest fire, drought, hurricane, dust storm, tornado, need I go on?

Gyrfalcon: Given the track record of first FINDING Katrina victims, and second getting them any money, I have the feeling getting any money back is going to take years, if not decades.

These are people who own property, and spent money to repair it: they are easy to find.

Nabb1 [TotalFark] Quote 2008-03-29 09:31:04 PM
vabeard: yes, but they didn't save the money from FEMA to help with their housing needs.

Do you even know what the Road Home program is or know anyone who received Road Home funds?

Nabb1, ignore vabeard- troll-like typing detected in his posts.

Zimmy: Friend of mine received $15k from the government after losing everything(He was in Pascagoula, lived about 5 miles from the Gulf).

About 3 months ago, they wanted him to pay back $20k citing an overpayment and interest.

Also, Spreadhead, don't bother telling people that some place other than NO got hit. That's the only place a good majority of the people think for some reason got destroyed by Katrina. Nevermind the fact that my old town isn't even on the map anymore.

Additionally, for the one guy who says "They should of known better than to live there when hurricanes hit all the time" there's no place in the US that is safe from a disaster. Flooding, forest fire, drought, hurricane, dust storm, tornado, need I go on?


Point taken, I think I'll go for a ride around the fully rebuilt Gulf Coast tomorrow ;)

mama's_tasty_foods Quote 2008-03-29 09:19:08 PM

I am an attorney who has handled hundreds of insurance claims and lawsuits following Hurricane Katrina.


But are you getting a kick out of these replies?

mama's_tasty_foods: Nabb1, ignore vabeard- troll-like typing detected in his posts.

I think you are probably correct, counselor.

BTW, how is the Road Home going about asserting its rights in these lawsuits? Are they actually intervening in the suits?

As a New Orleanian I definitely sympathize with our neighbors and their plight, but if you didn't visit N.O. up to a year following Katrina you really haven't seen what happened. I went up and down the coast in the months immediately following the disaster, helping in some places and in others simply by incident, and there was disaster everywhere. Destruction and devastation of a high order, no doubt.

But the impact directly felt by human beings was BY FAR strongest in N.O. No other disaster area held a candle to the assault on decency and living standards that took place in N.O.

eatin' fetus: mmagdalene:
"I'm a 22-year-old jackass with a MySpace page. Can I haz a 300 million dollar arms deal, plz?"

Does that infuriate you like it infuriates me? I can't get over it. I'm so pissed off about that. Seriously, so incredibly pissed off.

Oh hell yes. I'm re-reading "The True Believer" and wondering just what the hell it will take to incite the American people to action.

mama's_tasty_foods: 12.fl.oz.: mama's_tasty_foods: I am an attorney who has handled hundreds of insurance claims and lawsuits following Hurricane Katrina.

I suspect that what is going on here is that Road Home is AFTER THE FACT going to assert its right to reimbursement from the homeowner of any insurance proceeds for the property's structure. The grant documents give them this right; but for the longest time the agency did nothing to protect its rights whenever a recipient had a claim or lawsuit. Some people probably had the impression the agency would never find out, or try to recoup the proceeds.

They do have the legal right to these proceeds. However, the fact that they did nothing to assert any interest in the proceeds BEFORE the insurance monies were received, and now that they are all spent, is nothing short of ridiculous; and completely consistent with the idiotic behavior of this program from its start.

So do they have a legal entitlement to the money?

As the post by me that you quoted says, "They do have the legal right to these proceeds." If Road Home gives you $20,000, and your insurance company later paid you $20,000 for damage to the structure of your property (as opposed to payments for contents and additional living expenses), RH gets that money.

I was mystified, while claims and lawsuits were going on (as they are to this day), why Road Home did not assert its rights. They could and should have put the insurance companies on notice of their rights but did nothing. I will say that now, finally, 3 years after the hurricane, they ARE getting their reimbursement on cases that are pending in the system.

Still, it is ridiculous that they sat on their rights when asserting them would have been simple, and now will go after people for millions of dollars they could easily have gotten on the front end for little cost.

As for seeking reimbursement for people who were simply not eligible for benefits at all-- I obviously have less sympathy for such people, but still if the money was disbursed and spent it's hard to see what RH can expect to get out of this. They will be lucky to collect pennies on the dollar.

Actually they may have thought their cunning plans all the way through. Since they have legal claim to monies spent they potentially could go after the homeowners for their property, and in turn, grab a healthy chunk of the NO real estate. Or they can lein the houses so they can never sell, and/or garnish wages of the homeowner thereby screwing their lives up even more until they give up and hand over the property they redeveloped. If true, it may be one of the most diabolical moves in recent history.

mabelkitty: Screw Nawlins. It was and is a wasteland.

I hope you suffer an untimely and unfortunate death

/too much?

Trixie_Belden: well duh! how many of those folks bought things like diamonds and plasma tv's with their Katrina money? Many people got money that rightfully wasn't theirs.

No, I'm afraid you don't understand. The scummiest of the scum, black and white, that had nothing to begin with, got a truck-load of free money that had nothing to do with the grant program. THOSE people went out and bought Plasma Screen TVs and Playstation 3s. Those same people are still living in FEMA trailers and are now demanding free Katrina Cottages. These are the same people who lived in the beloved "Ninth Ward" and who lived in 30 year old ratted out trailers on the Mississippi gulf coast.

Everyone else got grants and paid 5x the price normal price for drywall, paint, nails, etc. to rebuild their homes due to price gouging in the area. So if you got $50,000 in grants that money was significantly reduced by the amount of money paid out to labor and materials; i.e. grant recipients only really getting $20,000 worth out the $50,000 received.

Before anyone bemuses me for living on the coast. My house is 32 feet above sea level and is located right next door to two houses over two hundred years old that NEVER flooded. Our house and those houses took 2-3 feet of water. The whole town I live in flooded. THE WHOLE TOWN, not just the coastal residents.

Katrina was a 500 year flood that is for certain.

ScottHimself: As a New Orleanian I definitely sympathize with our neighbors and their plight, but if you didn't visit N.O. up to a year following Katrina you really haven't seen what happened. I went up and down the coast in the months immediately following the disaster, helping in some places and in others simply by incident, and there was disaster everywhere. Destruction and devastation of a high order, no doubt.

But the impact directly felt by human beings was BY FAR strongest in N.O. No other disaster area held a candle to the assault on decency and living standards that took place in N.O.

And a good reason for that is how crowded NO was compared to the other towns/cities on the Gulf. Compare how big NO is to how big the Gulfport/Biloxi metropolitan area is in terms of population density.

I'm sure another factor is prolly the government, though I'm not sure of how NO's and Louisiana's is in general so I can't really comment on that.

/Fun fact: Gulfport's port was ready to go* within 30 days of Katrina. Unlike NO's and Texas's.

Nabb1:
BTW, how is the Road Home going about asserting its rights in these lawsuits? Are they actually intervening in the suits?

not to my knowledge. In every case I've dealt with this, they are simply notifying the insurer that they have a right to reimbursement. The insurance company then will make the RH program an additional payee on any check it issues for payment for structure damage, and leave the insured (and their lawyer) to work something out with Road Home. It's the same thing they do with mortgages: the homeowner settles the case, the insurer names the mortgage co. as a payee on the check.

I have heard lately that Road Home is actually taking the position that it has the authority to approve or reject settlement of the homeowner's claim! However I have yet to see them assert that in one of my cases.

Horsecrap
Miss was hit just as hard, though over a much larger area.
I came down to La. to help and found myself sickened by the degredation these numbnuts were willing to heap apon themselves.
You wanna blame someone? Howabout the mayor?
Yer wunnerful congressman who used human assets to move his personal assets.
Try the crime raise evereywhere the 'refugees' were sent.
Yea I'm bitter. I went to assist folks in need and found human garbage.
Enjoy yer murder rates.

I am a Katrina evacuee and I am getting a kick out of these replies.

/Drinking a Pat O'Brien's hurricane drink right this moment.
//Could go off on a rant, but I am sooooooo mellowed out.
///Missed my 25 year high school reunion tonight. Bummed out. :(

mama's_tasty_foods: I have heard lately that Road Home is actually taking the position that it has the authority to approve or reject settlement of the homeowner's claim! However I have yet to see them assert that in one of my cases.

I've done that in some cases where I've represented an employer in an intervention to recover workers comp benefits. I almost seldom break out the "nuclear option," though. The only times I've done that is when some plaintiff's lawyer gets way to greedy about waiving a good chunk when the size of the intervention is like 5% of the overall settlement.