In any lawsuit, the Venire must be considered by the parties. The Venire is the list of potential jurors, the potential jury pool, the group from which a Jury will be selected at Trial. In Mississippi, most individuals did not have Flood Insurance as was true across all of the Gulf Coast before Katrina. However, many people in Mississippi as well as other States did not have Homeowner's Insurance or Property Insurance either. They are left to counter the devastation left by Katrina either with the help of volunteers, or by waiting for Government assistance God help them. See this news article published today for a fuller description of their situation: Peter Whoriskey, "As Aid Lags, Volunteers Shoulder Rebuilding on Gulf Coast/Local Gratitude Mixes With Frustration Over Government's Failures" (Washington Post, Sunday, January 28, 2007, p. A03).
The Venire must be carefully considered in any case, and in no lawsuits should the Venire -- the Jury Pool -- be given more careful consideration than that available to decide fact issues in the Katrina Damages lawsuits.
A recent case that went to verdict in Mississippi, in which the Trial Judge directed a verdict on Coverage for the apparent Policy Limits and in which a Jury assessed Punitive Damages of $2,500,000.00 was previously posted here on January 12, 2007. A more detailed discussion of it is also posted today, and on January 15, 2007, on Insurance Claims and Bad Faith Law Blog.
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This was very interesting and informative. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: PAdams, Clermont, Florida. | January 30, 2007 at 08:35 PM