On Wednesday, the final day for Hurricane Katrina victims to file suit against the government, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that Louisiana Attorney General, Charles Foti, could not bring an action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of victims without legal representation.

A recent district court order appointed Foti guardian ad litem for 350,000 unrepresented victims with tort claims against the government under the Admiralty Extension Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act resulting from flooding. Foti filed the lawsuit on Wednesday prior to the Fifth Circuit granting the government’s writ of mandamus and vacating the order of appointment. According to the Fifth Circuit, U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval did not have the authority to make such an appointment.

Duval’s previous ruling in February that the U.S. Corps of Engineers could be held liable for flooding allegations spurred a lawsuit claiming the dredging of a canal caused most of the city’s flooding. The U.S. Corps of Engineers argued that it has immunity under the 1928 Flood Control Act and that the canal did not cause significant flooding.

Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/08/fifth-circuit-blocks-louisiana-ag-class.php