NOLA

A long simmering lawsuit against actor Brad Pitt’s post-Katrina neighborhood development Make It Right is back before a New Orleans judge this week, after a multimillion-dollar settlement to pay homeowners for shoddy construction didn’t come through. Now, the homeowners are seeking class-action status to get what they believe they’re owed.

Make It Right homeowners, who purchased their properties from the non-profit organization founded by the Hollywood leading man, first sued in 2018 for critical design and construction flaws, breach of contract, and fraud.

The case has yet to be resolved despite a settlement in 2022, when Global Green, a Los Angeles-based environmental organization, offered $20.5 million to compensate the homeowners on Make It Right's behalf.

Trouble was, Global Green didn’t have the money. The lawsuit was derailed for almost three years thereafter.

On Monday, lawyers began debating the situation anew in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, at a hearing to determine whether to certify a class action for the plaintiff homeowners.

There’s little argument that the homes Make It Right built were leaky and prone to rot. After all, in 2018 the organization sued its own managing architect for allegedly allowing poor building practices to take place.