Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Class Action Lawsuit Heads to Federal Court

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New Orleans homeowners alleging that homes constructed by Brad Pitt’s organization in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were shoddy must take their class action lawsuit to federal court.

A group of New Orleans residents say that Make It Right, along with Make It Right-New Orleans LLC, its executives, Brad Pitt and other founders are responsible for putting them in housing that contained construction and structural problems, as well as plumbing and electrical issues.

In a recent court ruling, the executives of the Make It Right organization successfully argued that the class action lawsuit should be removed to federal court.

According to the Make It Right class action lawsuit, residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans were promised 150 energy efficient homes after Hurricane Katrina left devastation.

The homeowners say that 109 of the Make It Right homes were so inferior and defective that homeowners were looking at massive repairs.

Further, the Make It Right organization allegedly failed to pay property tax on some of the plots and even failed to submit tax returns on the properties for certain years.

The homeowners say in the Make It Right class action lawsuit that a long sought-after engineering report found a number of issues with homes built by the organization. To obtain this report, say the homeowners, they were required to sign a nondisclosure agreement and agree to arbitration terms, however.

Further, alleges the class action lawsuit, information about problems with the Make It Right homes was hidden by engineers, potentially limiting the recovery of homeowners under federal law.

According to the Make It Right class action lawsuit, two subsidiaries of the organization were created, along with a for profit entity related to solar power. Homeowners were offered a “forgivable” loan to help with repair and maintenance costs on the Make It Right homes.

Currently, say the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, Make It Right has stopped building and repairing homes it constructed.

The Make It Right class action lawsuit is seeking damages for breach of contract, fraud, emotional distress, and unfair trade practices. According to the motion to move the class action to federal court, claimed damages exceed $5 million.

Make It Right class action lawsuit Class Members include both “individuals who have suffered economic losses, property losses, and noneconomic losses or injuries as a result of Defendants actions and omissions, all as more fully set forth hereinafter, within six basic categories: Physical Personal Injury Tort Claims; Nonphysical Tort Claims; Property Related Claims; Financial Claims; Mental Distress Claims; and Statutory Claims;” and “individuals who purchased Make It Right Homes from MAKE IT RIGHT-NEW ORLEANS, LLC, and/or MAKE IT RIGHT FOUNDATION, and/or MAKE IT RIGHT – NEW ORLEANS HOUSING, LLC.”

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class are represented by Ron A. Austin and Catherine Hilton of Ron Austin Law LLC.

The Make It Right Hurricane Katrina Homes Class Action Lawsuit is Francis, et al. v. Make It Right­New Orleans LLC, et al., Case No. 2:18-­cv­-09906, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

UPDATE: On Nov. 20, 2018, Brad Pitt is fighting to remove himself from a class action lawsuit filed by New Orleans homeowners who allege they received poorly constructed homes from his Make It Right Foundation after Hurricane Katrina.