NEW ORLEANS – A surprise ruling by a federal appeals court that lets the Army Corps of Engineers off the hook for paying compensation for Hurricane Katrina’s catastrophic flooding isn’t going over well on the streets of New Orleans.

People in southern Louisiana have long taken for granted that the flooding in the wake of the 2005 storm was a man-made disaster – one caused by the corps – and they have wanted the agency to pay up for lost homes and property.

But Monday, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its earlier opinion and shot down the argument that had succeeded so far in holding the corps accountable. The ruling also could make it difficult to force the government to pay damages for future mishaps.