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Plaintiffs affected by the New Year’s terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans have filed a civil lawsuit against the city’s leadership and private companies hired to consult the city about safety planning in the French Quarter.
The lawsuit alleges that the mass tragedy was not only predictable but preventable.
The 21 plaintiffs include Antoinette Klima, whose son’s father, Reggie Hunter, died in the attack. Klima is one of the family members who has spoken out about her son’s first birthday without his father and the difficulty of dealing with the loss.
The lawsuit names several defendants, including the city of New Orleans, the New Orleans Police Department, French Quarter Management District, Mott MacDonald LLC, and Hard Rock Construction LLC.
The complaint alleges that the city “deviated” from its own plans for New Year’s Eve and the Super Bowl, when it decided to replace bollards in November.
A temporary barrier was set up on Bourbon Street, but it was placed incorrectly, allowing vehicles to pass through.
The city had been discussing improved safety measures for the French Quarter for nearly a decade, following the deadly Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, in 2016.
Despite years of preparation and warnings of motor vehicle-based attacks, New Orleans officials and their hired consultants and contractors recklessly and willfully put the New Year’s celebrants at risk, the lawsuit claims.
The city began planning updated security measures, including bollards meant to stop vehicles from entering busy streets, in the French Quarter in 2017.
A separate, confidential 2019 report warned that Bourbon Street was the “most high-profile target” in New Orleans for a terror attack.
The FBI has identified 21-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Texas as the perpetrator of the attack, which killed 14 people and injured 57 others. He was killed in a shootout with police.
Survivors of the attack, including Leo Spadoni, Daniel Ortega, and Keith Eldridge, have shared their stories of fear, anxiety, and depression following the incident. They are seeking justice and accountability for the city’s alleged failure to prevent the attack.
