Brad Pitt’s foundation reaches settlement over faulty post-Hurricane Katrina homes
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation has reached a settlement with the owners of faulty post-Hurricane Katrina homes.
The actor’s foundation has reached a $20.5 million (£17.2 million) settlement with those who received housing unfit to live in.
Hurricane Katrina hit the coast of Louisiana in August 2005, resulting in more than 1,800 deaths and $125 billion (£104 billion) in damage.
Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation raised funds to build new homes for victims of the storm, which sold for $150,000 (£126,000) each.
The foundation was sued in 2018 for defective design and building practices, breach of contract and fraud. The suit claimed the houses were poorly built and sold with significant structural issues.
In a release published on Thursday, Make It Right officials announced that they had come to a settlement with the complainants, and that they were teaming up with NGO Global Green once again to fix the houses’ defects.
“I am incredibly grateful for Global Green’s willingness to step up and provide this important support for the Lower Ninth families,” Pitt said in a statement, referencing the New Orleans region. “We collaborated in the early days post-Katrina and we are very fortunate to have Global Green’s generous continuing commitment to help address the challenges around these homes and others in need.
“Hopefully this agreement will allow everyone to look ahead to other opportunities to continue to strengthen this proud community in the future.”
