HOUSTON – What you need to know about the flood lawsuit hearing that took place Friday.

Attorneys say they have hundreds of claimants suing the government claiming that the release of the Addicks and Barker dams flooded their homes, not the storm.

Today was the first hearing and a federal claims court judge came from Washington, DC to meet with attorneys here in Houston.

With large losses, attorneys are looking for large damage amounts.

“Potentially it will be billions of dollars of money from federal government to these people,” said Charles Irvine of the Irvine and Conner Law Firm.

Attorneys say the hearing was about how to move through these lawsuits efficiently.

“It's important that this legal process moves in an expeditious way in order to get these folks the relief they are entitled too,” said Jared Woodfill of Woodfill Law Firm.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District gave us this response when KPRC asked about the hearing today.

"The Addicks and Barker dams do not eliminate flooding, they can only reduce the impact of a flood event. There will always be risks as there are no solutions to totally prevent all flooding. Hurricane Harvey was a record rainfall event causing the largest rain event ever recorded in U.S. history and resulting in the largest pool of record for the Addicks and Barker reservoirs."

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