New Orleans residents and a housing program launched by Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have settled a class-action lawsuit alleging widespread home construction defects for $20.5 million.
The settlement was announced earlier this month in Orleans Parish Civil District Court. More than 100 homeowners argued that the homes they purchased through the foundation suffered from shoddy construction, leaks and other defects. If a judge approves the settlement, homeowners will each be eligible to receive $25,000 to fix their homes.
The actor founded the program in 2007 to replace homes that were destroyed by the deadly 2005 hurricane. New Orleans residents who purchased homes through the foundation, however, found their homes were plagued with problems such as sagging porches and rotting wood, according to Classactions.com.
Attorney Ron Austin, who represented the residents in the litigation, said class members bought into promises made by Brad Pitt when they purchased the foundation’s homes.
“It was significant in as much as it will go a long way in helping the residents of the Make It Right community get the homes that they actually purchased, have homes that are actually habitable, that will last, that are safe and are able to be used for their intended purpose,” Austin told the Louisiana Record.
If a judge accepts the settlement, the action would end the litigation involving 105 homes that were purchased in the lower Ninth Ward between 2008 and 2016, he said. The funds will go toward making repairs in the future or reimbursing residents for repairs that have already been made, according to Austin.
“(Residents) were let down because those homes were failing, falling apart, deteriorating and rotting,” he said. “And they had no financial means to fix them because they spent all their money purchasing their homes.”
California-based Global Green, a nonprofit, will oversee the payment of the settlement funds.
The plaintiffs in the litigation are delighted with the outcome of the case, according to Austin.
“They are ecstatic that the public remained interested in their story,” he said. “And they are grateful that we are at a point of resolution.”