Firearms taken after Hurricane Katrina.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - October 9, 2008 - City officials have agreed to return hundreds of firearms that police officers confiscated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, part of a deal to resolve a lawsuit filed by gun lobbying groups.

The settlement agreement filed Tuesday in federal court calls for the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation to drop their case if the city follows a plan for returning guns to owners who had them seized by police after the Aug. 29, 2005 hurricane.

Both sides also are asking U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to sign off on the pact and issue a permanent injunction barring the city from seizing lawfully possessed firearms. Judge Barbier didn't immediately rule on the agreement, which doesn't involve a monetary award.

Police department spokesman Bob Young said it has stored 552 guns that were confiscated after Katrina, through Dec. 31, 2005. Police have said that most of the confiscated firearms had been stolen or found in abandoned homes, but the NRA claims police disarmed some people who were trying to flee the city.

City attorney Nolan Lambert denied that police unlawfully seized firearms. "We were acting at all times in conformity with the law," he said.

The agreement calls for the city to post a notice on its Web site that explains how gun owners can claim their firearms.