Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to pay $20.5 million to owners of defective homes after Katrina – NOLA.com

Nearly four years ago, residents of homes built by the Make It Right Foundation, a futuristic post-Hurricane Katrina housing estate founded by Brad Pitt, sued the Hollywood superstar and his associates for faulty design and construction practices, breach of contract and fraud.

Late Tuesday, attorneys for the Make It Right Foundation and affected residents told Orleans Parish Civil District Court that they had agreed to a settlement intended to make all residents of the development whole. .

Make It Right will pay the owners of the homes it built in the Lower 9th Ward $20.5 million, according to court documents. Although only six owners are named in the lawsuit against Make It Right, the class action settlement applies to all owners unless they choose to opt out.

Subject to a judge’s approval, each of the 107 Make It Right owners will be eligible to receive $25,000 as reimbursement for previous repairs made by the owners.

Once the attorney’s fees are paid, the rest of the money would be divided according to the problems present in each of the vanguard structures, which have been besieged by leaks, rot and other defects.

The settlement documents point out that liability for the defects in the homes was “vigorously” contested. Attorney Ron Austin, who represented the residents in the lawsuit against the main man and his charity, framed the outcome in terms of David versus Goliath.

“This is one of those scenarios where the impossible has become possible,” he said on Wednesday.

Attorneys for Make It Right and Brad Pitt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A hopeful start

The settlement represents a major milestone in a long saga that began 14 years ago in the aftermath of Katrina. Pitt arrived in the flood-devastated neighborhood of the Lower 9th Ward with the best of intentions. As of 2008, the actor’s nonprofit has built 109 energy-efficient homes designed by some of the world’s leading architects, including Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne and Shigeru Ban.

Paid for with donations, the construction cost $26.8 million, or nearly $250,000 per house, according to Make It Right’s 2015 tax return. But the range of non-traditional homes sold to former area residents at affordable prices, averaging $150,000.

Make It Right absorbed the additional costs. And fueled by Pitt’s celebrity sizzle, the striking development has become a post-Katrina tourist attraction and an example of resilience in an era of dismal recovery. What Katrina and a collapsed levee had stolen, Pitt had restored.

But it wasn’t long before the shine of Make It Right began to tarnish as rumors spread that some of the eye-catching houses were in serious trouble.

Residents’ complaints culminated in a class action lawsuit in September 2018. The lawsuit alleged that many homes were poorly built with inadequate materials. According to the lawsuit, some of the homes suffered from rain leaks that caused rot, structural damage and mold. The lawsuit also listed faulty heating, cooling and ventilation systems, as well as electrical malfunctions and plumbing issues.

Two decaying houses were demolished within 10 years of their construction. Some of the other buildings, which are still relatively new, are boarded up.

Make It Right has recognized flaws in the architecture at least twice. First, in 2015, he sued the maker of an eco-friendly, water-resistant lumber for $500,000, when the product proved to be no match for southern Louisiana weather conditions. .

Lawyers for Make It Right sued its own chief architect, John C. Williams, in 2018, blaming him for millions of design flaws. Williams said the accusation was “shocking and insulting and we intend to prove that we were not at fault”. In April 2021, the organization also sued several of its former officials, accusing them of mismanaging the project.

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This week’s settlement was a welcome relief for some homeowners, including Patricia Lewis, whose Tennessee Avenue home suffered from a faulty porch, an electrical fire she blamed on faulty wiring and beams rotten supports.

“I was so disappointed,” she said of Make It Right’s inattention to issues. Informed of the settlement, she said it would be great news, although she was skeptical that the money would arrive.

“It sounds exciting, if it ever happens,” she said.

Owner Roycelyn Lewis (who is not related to Patricia Lewis) said she loves her Make It Right home, which was built on the same Tennessee Street lot where her family home stood before the flooding of 2005 does not destroy it. But he had his share of problems. On Wednesday, a contractor was finishing rebuilding his porch, which had rotted away. Her back porch, she pointed out, was also rotting.

The thorniest issue, Lewis said, was the impenetrable air conditioning system, which had to be turned on by a serviceman every spring and eventually had to be completely replaced at a cost of $12,500.

Lewis said she realizes her house is in better shape than many.

“Let the (settlement) money go to the people who are in a terrible state,” she said. “If they give me $25,000, I’ll be okay with that.”

Pitt wanted out

For Pitt, the attempt to help the Lower 9th Ward has become a long-running legal headache. In 2018, Pitt’s lawyers asked the court to absolve him of personal liability in the mess, but Civil District Court Judge Rachael Johnson was unswayed and Pitt was forced to stay on the ship. apparently sinking.

The distribution of settlement funds to individual homes will be overseen by Global Green, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to environmental concerns, which is facing the $20.5 million, according to Austin, the plaintiffs’ attorney.

Asked why Global Green signed up to the Make It Right settlement, the nonprofit’s CEO, William Bridge, said the organization “historically had a great relationship with Make It Right and Brad Pitt.” and that the board’s goal was “to plug it (the money) back into the community.

Before Pitt led the Make It Right project, he lent his fame to building a small cluster of Global Green homes in the Lower 9th Ward.