Road Home applicants sue state over grants’ ‘intimidating’ wording
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NEW ORLEANS — Two New Orleans area residents whose homes were flooded during Hurricane Katrina accused the state Friday of “intimidating or discouraging’’ homeowners from challenging their Road Home grants.
Jacob Groby III, a former St. Bernard Parish resident now living in St. Tammany Parish, and Durrell Williams of New Orleans claim in a federal lawsuit that language in Road Home grant documents violates their civil rights by infringing on their right to judicial review and access to the courts.
The suit, filed by the New Orleans law firm of Silvestri and Massicot and New Orleans lawyer Peter D. Derbes, contends Groby and Williams were “falsely told’’ Road Home applicants are not entitled to seek judicial review after exhaustion of administrative appeals within the Road Home program.
“By falsely advising Road Home applicants that they have no right to judicial review of their Road Home grants or of the procedures utilized by the Road Home program to determine their grants, Defendants have misled Plaintiffs and those similarly situated and have intentionally chilled their right of access to the courts protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,’’ the suit charges.
A grant agreement that homeowners must sign as a condition of receiving their Road Home money also contains wording that says the state has the right to recover attorney fees and litigation expenses from a homeowner if the homeowner sues the state over the amount of their award and loses, the suit alleges.
“By placing the fee shifting language in the Grant Agreement, Defendants intended to discourage dissatisfied Road Home applicants from judicially challenging their Road Home grants or any actions or decisions by Defendants and the Road Home Program taken before or after the Homeowner signs the Grant Agreement,’’ the suit adds.
“I think that is intimidating. That is incredibly intimidating,’’ lawyer John Massicot said.
The suit, allotted to U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, seeks to be certified as a class action on behalf of the more than 150,000 Road Home applicants across south Louis-iana. The suit seeks to, among other things, have the state remove what the plaintiffs call constitutionally suspect language from Road Home documents.
“We are taking the lawsuit under advisement and do not have a comment at this time,’’ Louisiana Recovery Authority spokeswoman Christina Stephens said.
The suit was filed against state Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis and state Office of Community Development executive director Suzie Elkins. OCD oversees the Road Home program, which is administered by Virginia-based ICF International under a state contract. ICF works with the LRA and OCD to develop policies and procedures.
Groby, who decided to sell his St. Bernard home to the state and relocate within the state, has signed a grant agreement with the Road Home but has not gone to closing. Williams, who applied for a grant with the Road Home, has not yet signed a grant agreement.
Jacob Groby III, a former St. Bernard Parish resident now living in St. Tammany Parish, and Durrell Williams of New Orleans claim in a federal lawsuit that language in Road Home grant documents violates their civil rights by infringing on their right to judicial review and access to the courts.
The suit, filed by the New Orleans law firm of Silvestri and Massicot and New Orleans lawyer Peter D. Derbes, contends Groby and Williams were “falsely told’’ Road Home applicants are not entitled to seek judicial review after exhaustion of administrative appeals within the Road Home program.
“By falsely advising Road Home applicants that they have no right to judicial review of their Road Home grants or of the procedures utilized by the Road Home program to determine their grants, Defendants have misled Plaintiffs and those similarly situated and have intentionally chilled their right of access to the courts protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,’’ the suit charges.
A grant agreement that homeowners must sign as a condition of receiving their Road Home money also contains wording that says the state has the right to recover attorney fees and litigation expenses from a homeowner if the homeowner sues the state over the amount of their award and loses, the suit alleges.
“By placing the fee shifting language in the Grant Agreement, Defendants intended to discourage dissatisfied Road Home applicants from judicially challenging their Road Home grants or any actions or decisions by Defendants and the Road Home Program taken before or after the Homeowner signs the Grant Agreement,’’ the suit adds.
“I think that is intimidating. That is incredibly intimidating,’’ lawyer John Massicot said.
The suit, allotted to U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon, seeks to be certified as a class action on behalf of the more than 150,000 Road Home applicants across south Louis-iana. The suit seeks to, among other things, have the state remove what the plaintiffs call constitutionally suspect language from Road Home documents.
“We are taking the lawsuit under advisement and do not have a comment at this time,’’ Louisiana Recovery Authority spokeswoman Christina Stephens said.
The suit was filed against state Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis and state Office of Community Development executive director Suzie Elkins. OCD oversees the Road Home program, which is administered by Virginia-based ICF International under a state contract. ICF works with the LRA and OCD to develop policies and procedures.
Groby, who decided to sell his St. Bernard home to the state and relocate within the state, has signed a grant agreement with the Road Home but has not gone to closing. Williams, who applied for a grant with the Road Home, has not yet signed a grant agreement.
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