{
  "id": 17846981,
  "title": "Woman wins nearly $450,000 after $32,500 flood barrier fails to save home",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/woman-wins-nearly-450-000-after-32-500-flood-barrier-fails-to-save",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T19:29:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/a-louisiana-woman-paid-32500-for-a-wooden-river-barrier-to-protect-her-109000-home-but-it-failed-in-a-flood-and-her-house-shifted-a-court-has-now-awarded-her-nearly-450000-after-removing-her-share-of-blame/articleshow/135451683.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Louisiana homeowner, Elizabeth Molbert, won nearly $450,000 after a riverfront barrier failed to protect her home during a flood. A wooden bulkhead built in 2016 by Kenko Bulkhead & Marine Services, LLC collapsed during a flood in 2017, causing her property to shift and requiring $266,372.75 in repairs. She also spent $167,058.59 on an engineered steel bulkhead replacement and $165,000 on flood insurance. After a trial, the jury awarded her $332,573.50 after accounting for her 25% fault, which was later overturned by the appeals court. The court dismissed Kenko, Cooley, and Beier's individual claims and increased Molbert's compensation to $448,431.34, covering damage to her house and the bulkhead.",
  "summary": "After suffering extensive structural damage to her home from a failing wooden bulkhead, Elizabeth Molbert took legal action against the contractor involved and succeeded. The jury assigned 75% of the blame to the contractor and, in a twist, the appeals court ruled that Molbert had no fault in the matter, increasing her compensation to $448,431.34 and adjusting her mental anguish damages to align…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}