TEXARKANA -- Lawyers involved in civil lawsuits stemming from the deadly 2010 flood at an Albert Pike campground are expected to file a joint response to the U.S. government's request to dismiss them in a few months.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey penned an order in the Texarkana division of the Western District of Arkansas federal court consolidating the 11 cases for the purposes of conducting discovery and filing a brief opposing the government's position that the suits are barred by law.
Discovery consists of information-gathering, such as evidence and interviews with people connected to an issue, for example. Rather than have potential witnesses questioned again and again in connection with the 11 cases, Hickey wants the plaintiffs to join forces and eliminate such possible repetition. Hickey's order also directs the filing of a single joint answer opposing a motion to dismiss filed by the government.
Twenty campers lost their lives in the historic June 11, 2010, flood of the Little Missouri River in Ouachita National Forest.
All of the suits allege the U.S. government knew an ultra-hazardous condition existed in the campgrounds along the Little Missouri River in Ouachita National Forest, but neglected to warn the public or take measures to reduce the risk presented by campgrounds situated in a flood plain.
On June 11, 2010, as campers slept, the river rose from 3 feet to more than 23 feet in a matter of hours. Picnic tables, cars, paved road, recreational vehicles and campers were swept away in the roiling waters.
The dead include children, parents, grandparents, husbands, wives and friends.
The lawsuits allege the government knew the risks of camping in Albert Pike, particularly in the Loop D campground.
A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted many factors, including failure of the Forest Service to follow many of its own regulations, as contributing to the tragedy. Those failings of the Forest Service are listed in each of the federal suits.
The suits claim a district ranger was eager to spend $600,000 in funds marked for renovations at Albert Pike and ignored recommendations from Forest Service experts that the area known as Loop D be designated as primitive camping only, as well as a long and documented history of flooding.
The government claims it is protected from liability by the Arkansas Recreational Use Statute. But the plaintiffs have argued that the statute provides an exception that should permit the lawsuits to go forward.
Hickey's order consolidating the cases for discovery and a response to the government's motion to dismiss suspends the deadline for the plaintiffs to file their joint answer. The order notes that the discovery process likely won't be completed until October or November.
Local on 07/24/2014