Hurricane Harvey: Second Lawsuit Filed Against United States Over Addicks, Barker Water Releases

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Four named plaintiffs have filed second class action against the United States over extensive flood damage allegedly caused by the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to conduct controlled storm water releases of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. The plaintiffs allege that as a result of the Army Corps of Engineers’ attempt to “control the flow of [Hurricane Harvey’s] heavy rainfall by releasing water” from the reservoirs, roughly 4,000 home and businesses—properties the case argues were otherwise not going to flood during the storm—were overwhelmed by water.

“Thousands of families, including [the plaintiffs] and the [proposed class], are now displaced from their homes with no assurances from [the defendant] for when they will be able to return or whether they will be compensated for the damage it caused to their private properties,” the lawsuit reads, adding that while the reservoir drains may very well have been necessary, proposed class members are now “disproportionately burdened” without any promise of compensation.