You’ve got to love the irony that judge King is a Jimmy Carter appointee…

“In a case that could affect thousands of New Orleans residents rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that homeowners’ insurance policies did not cover flood damages caused by levee breaches that flooded 80 percent the city.

“This event was excluded from coverage under the plaintiffs’ insurance policies, and under Louisiana law, we are bound to enforce the unambiguous terms of their insurance contracts as written,” Judge Carolyn King wrote for a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Accordingly, we conclude that the plaintiffs are not entitled to recover under their policies,” she wrote.

The panel overturned a November decision by a lower court judge that argued that language excluding water damage from some of their insurance policies was ambiguous.

Judge Stanwood Duval said the policies did not distinguish between floods caused by an act of God ‚Äî such as excessive rainfall ‚Äî and floods caused by an act of man, which would include the levee breaches following Katrina’s landfall.”

The language was never “ambiguous”, but very clearly state that you are not covered for flood – whether God caused it or not. Nevertheless it’s interesting that it’s Judge King who had a lot of opinions on Katrina and the aftermath as this radio transcript shows. Appears that she might have recused herself.