After Hurricane Katrina ravished the lives of millions of people living in New Orleans, Louisiana, many Hollywood big shots promised to help rebuild lives devastated by the storm. One star built homes for over 100 families, however, the quality of the homes reportedly was so poor, those households filed a lawsuit alleging fraud. Now, the box office titan and his foundation and doubling back with an apology and a big check to truly make it right.
On Tuesday, Aug. 23, lawyers for Pitt and his “Make It Right” foundation told the Orleans Parish Civil District Court they have come to an agreement with the impacted residents of the Lower 9th Ward of the city about compensation for the inadequate housing they built after the record-breaking mega-storm, according to NOLA.com.
After attorney fees, the settlement will divide $20 million between 107 residents, pending a judge’s approval and their acceptance of the agreement.
“Hopefully this agreement will allow everyone to look ahead to other opportunities to continue to strengthen this proud community in the future,” Pitt offered in a statement.
Only six homeowners were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Part of the settlement is that even homeowners who did not actively sue Pitt and Make It Right will be compensated unless they choose to opt-out.
The homeowners also will be eligible to receive $25,000 in reimbursement for repairs they have had to pay as a result of the poor construction of their homes.
The announcement comes weeks after his daughter, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, started school as a freshman at Spelman and addresses a class-action lawsuit filed in August 2018, by homeowners who resolved to live in the houses.
The claim, submitted by attorney Ron Austin, alleged the homes were built in a “substandard” fashion and have been “deteriorating at a rapid pace while the homeowners are stuck with mortgages on properties that have diminished values,” and accused the foundation of unfair trade practices, breach of contract and fraud, NOLA reported.
Allegedly, the foundation knew the materials to build the properties were faulty and that the building designs had substantial issues. The organization never rectified those issues during the development stage, nor did it inform the people buying the homes of the problems.
Despite having investments from other celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Ellen Degeneres and Bill Clinton, many of the homes, news reports show, were so poorly made that within 10 years people abandoned their homes, once billed as “sustainable, flood-proof, affordable homes, and designed by a list of A-list architects.”
Judith Keller, an urban studies academic, said of the homes in a 2018 research report, “Although some of these structures are not yet a decade old, my data shows only six remain in reasonably good shape.”
She observed one house of the original 109 buildings was demolished because of severe mold problems during her time there, and another with the same issues was knocked down in 2021, for the same issues.
Of the existing houses still standing, six have been boarded up and abandoned since the residents moved in. Many left because they could not afford to pay for the repairs.
“I was just shocked at how that project had deteriorated over the past three years,” Keller said in an interview with the Guardian, published in February 2022. “The problems that existed in 2018 are all getting worse because there’s no one there to fix stuff.”
Ironically, the foundation sued the people it bought the “water-resistant wood” for the homes from in 2015, asking for $500,000 for the bad sale. Three years later, the foundation sued its architect John C. Williams for masterminding the flawed structures. Over the years, the foundation has sued others for the mismanagement of the project. But they did not make financial accommodations or support with the repairs for the people living in the homes, until the lawsuit.
Austin said of the victory, “This is one of those scenarios when the impossible became possible.”