After hurricane Ike left Texans up in arms, the services of Jones Walker, Louisiana’s largest law firm was contacted for legal advice on recovery.” A host of issues popped up for our clients and for the firm after [Hurricane] Katrina,” said Marshall Page, a partner heading up the disaster recovery client team. “Some were obvious, like insurance coverage, but a lot weren’t, like landlord-tenant issues. What do you do when your tenant has evacuated and hasn’t paid rent for months? How long do you hold the apartment for them?”

“We have provided a lot of unsolicited advice on practical matters that we learned the hard way,” Page said. “One of the biggest problems after Katrina was just getting hold of people. We learned that when the cellphone towers are down, you can’t talk on your cellphone but you can still text message. We also found out that BlackBerrys have a PIN number and you can use that PIN to send data, but not voice. You only discovery things like that when you’ve been through a disaster.”

Popularity: 4% [?]

With Hurricane Ike pushing through Texas and leaving it in shambles, all federal court hearings in Houston or Galveston this week have been canceled, stated Hayden Head, chief judge of the Southern District of Texas.

“We will not have any scheduled hearings the rest of the week,” said Head. “That’s just for the sake of the attorneys and the litigants.”

Although Houston’s federal courthouse is still standing strong, the condition of Galveston’s courthouse is unknown. Closed to regular traffic since the hurricane hit the island are the highways in and out of Galveston.

“That building [courthouse] is closed indefinitely until we get an assessment,” said Head. “Hopefully it will be OK. It’s a very sturdy building.”

However, rebuilding will be in order for many of the homes and businesses that were destroyed by Ike. For assistance, please view these sample construction agreements that include clauses involving bad weather.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Hurricane season is a scary time and as Ike roughs up everything in its path, it becomes obvious that this particular hurricane may have the last name Turner. While Cuba knew it was in for some bad weather, no one expected Ike to be this brutal. Having killed at least four people and forcing the evacuation of nearly 1.2 million, it is clearly devastating. Next in Ike’s path are Texas and Northern Mexico.

Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro put his country on “combat alert” against the third killer storm to come their way in the past few weeks. And for those folks with personal businesses at stake, please review the force majeure clauses in signed legal agreements to best understand your rights regarding the steps you must take to pick up the pieces.

Popularity: 3% [?]