With the lawsuit pending and no money for repairs, the congregation says it is still living with the damage.
Across the Mississippi River in Louisiana, three hotel owners signed the same 20% contingency arrangement with Paramount to handle claims from Katrina and Rita, which hit weeks afterward.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, August 04, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
Disaster recovery: An article in the July 5 Section A about the disaster recovery industry said that half of states license public insurance adjusters. According to the National Assn. for Insurance Commissioners, 46 states do.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, August 09, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
Disaster recovery: An article in the July 5 Section A about the disaster recovery industry said that half of states license public insurance adjusters. According to the National Assn. for Insurance Commissioners, 46 states do.
The contract listed Paramount's public adjuster license number, court records show. At the time Louisiana did not license public adjusters and prohibited such contingency fees, state officials say.
None of the hotel owners received their insurance settlements from Paramount, which totaled nearly $300,000, according to lawsuits they have filed. A Louisiana judge found that the signatures had been forged on the settlement checks and deposited into Paramount accounts.
Paramount employee Michael McKeel later told Sam Ratanji, one of the hotel owners, that Slepcevic and Todd had used their insurance money to throw a big party and buy California real estate, according to Ratanji's sworn affidavit filed in his suit. (Ratanji said in an interview that McKeel appeared disgruntled with Paramount. McKeel could not be located by The Times.)
Six months after Hurricane Rita hit, Slepcevic purchased the $1.6-million home in Redondo Beach, records show.
Ratanji estimates he has already spent $45,000 pursuing Paramount in court.
"It shows you why most people don't complain," said Irving, his attorney.
Sometimes the amount of money involved in a case doesn't seem worth the time or trouble -- to regulators or aggrieved clients.
But Danny Denoux, a former New Orleans police officer whose associates describe him as "a bayou version of Dirty Harry," wasn't going to let the matter lie.
After Katrina, he said, a Paramount employee helped boost his wind damage claim from $1,800 to $11,000. But Denoux said in a complaint filed with the Louisiana attorney general that he never got his settlement.
"They forged our names on the check and took all the money," said Denoux, who attached a copy of the check to his complaint.
Other homeowners also stepped forward, prompting the attorney general to order Paramount to cease its activities in the state. Paramount pushed back hard, generating legal objections that filled five bankers boxes, state officials said.
Eventually, Paramount's local attorneys asked to withdraw -- Slepcevic had filed for personal bankruptcy in June 2007 and was no longer paying Paramount's legal bills, court records show. The attorney general's office dropped the matter, believing Paramount had gone out of business.
