The owners of St. Rita’s nursing home, where 34 residents died following Hurricane Katrina, are turning the tables and suing the government.

The lawsuit filed last week alleges that federal, state and local officials failed to keep residents safe and evacuate vulnerable citizens in preparation for the storm. The couple’s attorney, James Cobb, said governing agencies should share liability for failing to make appropriate evacuation preparations before the storm.

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti charged Salvador and Mabel Mangano, the owners of St. Rita’s in a coastal suburb of New Orleans, with 34 counts of negligent homicide last fall. The residents died in the aftermath of the storm when floodwaters rose in the facility. But a grand jury has yet to be convened in the case because of damage to government buildings in the area.