Short history: On January 14, 2011, a group of residents along the 17th Street Canal in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans got their day in court. Calling themselves the 17th Street Canal Coalition, they were heard in Civil Court presided over by Judge Kern Reese.

The group requests compensation for their backyards which have been commandeered by the Orleans Levee District. With no other recourse, the group sued to stop the Army Corps of Engineers’ remediation of the canal walls until their demands were properly heard. As stated in their press release issued January 6, this was not their favored course of action:

“…The homeowners are simply attempting to have the Board adhere to the law regarding the taking of private property. The homeowners are very disappointed that they have had to resort to this action in order to have their requests heard and to have their rights respected by the Board….”

After hearing Tommy Anzelmo (for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Orleans Levee District) and Randy Smith (for the 17th Street Canal Coalition), the judge issued his ruling.

Judge Reese denied the petition enjoining the Army Corps of Engineers from proceeding with remediation work for the 17th Street Canal. He didn’t feel that stopping the Corps’ work would accomplish anything good for either party.

However, the Judge told the plaintiffs that he believed the homeowners had been wronged. He said he would void his past judgement and allow the Coalition to re-write their petition and seek relief from the Corps of Engineers in federal court.

The most interesting part was the Judge’s last statement. Judge Reese turned his attention and gaze toward the ten homeowners in the courtroom and praised them for their strength to keep fighting and to not allow their rights to be violated.

The official transcript has been released and you can see for yourself what the Judge said.
https://levees.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Lonatro-ET-AL-VERSUS-Orleans-Levee-District-1.14.2011.pdf

Just before posting this, I called the group’s spokesperson, Roy Arrigo, to inquire if there had been any new developments in the case.

“The group is continuing to press forward with the lawsuit,” said Mr. Arrigo.