Hurricane Katrina flood victims get $20.5m settlement from Brad Pitt

It sounded like a dream come true, complete with a handsome prince riding to the rescue: the construction of 109 new, sustainable, flood-proof and affordable homes in New Orleans's Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward, all thanks to movie star Brad Pitt.

But the homes that were built fell far short of Pitt's 2006 promises: they were plagued by mold, electrical fires and unclean water.

On Tuesday, 13 years after Hurricane Katrina victims started moving into the homes, a settlement was reached that will pay $20.5 m on behalf of Pitt to homeowners whose properties began to deteriorate almost as soon as they bought them.

The residents filed a lawsuit against Pitt and his charity, Make it Right, in 2018 after the now defunct charity ignored their complaints and vanished as the houses continued to decay.

The settlement has resulted in tears of joy for the long-suffering flood victims, said Ron Austin, the lead attorney in the class action lawsuit. You re talking about a group of people who didn't have an option to move and buy or rent a second home. This was their life savings and they were living in something that was deteriorating quickly around them. They are relieved and grateful. The settlement will help with the renovation and repair of the homes, according to Austin. There won't be any windfalls in individuals pockets. Global Green, an environmental non-profit that was not named in the lawsuit, agreed to pay $20.5 m on behalf of the actor, according to Austin. The lawyer said he didn't know whether Pitt directed the non-profit to make the payment, but Pitt is named one of Global Green's celebrity advocates on its website. The proposed settlement is being filed in the Parish of Orleans in the Civil District Court. It is awaiting judicial approval.

Representatives for Global Green, Make It Right, and Brad Pitt could not be reached for comment.

Pitt announced the Make It Right project in 2006 to great fanfare. The plan was to hire a cast of famous architects to build flashy, environmentally-sustainable homes at the epicenter of Hurricane Katrina's devastating flooding, and sell them to flood victims below cost starting at $150,000. The Hollywood icon boasted that the houses were a proof-of- concept for low-income green building nationally, maybe even worldwide, but that dream quickly fizzled. The eye-catching architecture was ill-suited to the torrential rainfalls of New Orleans: some of the houses had flat roofs and were missing basic features like rain gutters, overhangs, covered beams and waterproof paint causing mold, leaks and rot soon after they were built. While Pitt's charity initially made repairs, residents say the firm forced them to sign non-disclosure agreements before cutting off contact and disappearing altogether. Many of them were low-income first-time homeowners trapped in their decaying homes and unable to sell.

Pitt has denied responsibility for the debacle. A source close to the actor told the Guardian in February that Brad got involved in the beginning to help the people of Lower Ninth Ward, and it was downsetting to see what had happened once he had stepped back from the project and others took over. Austin said that many of the homeowners have never stopped admiring the actor despite years of anguish.

They were not happy that he was trying to get out of his obligations. He said that when someone makes you a promise and you believe in them, and when they try to walk away from that, you're going to be disappointed. They were never not fans of Brad Pitt. He is an icon of a guy.