St. Bernard Parish
A timeline of the lawsuit
OCTOBER 2006 GNOFHAC FILES SUIT AGAINST ST. BERNARD PARISH
On October 3, 2006, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) filed suit against St. Bernard Parish in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The suit prays for a permanent injunction restraining St. Bernard Parish from enforcing its single-family and blood-relative ordinances.
NOVEMBER 2006 ST. BERNARD PARISH AGREES TO HALT ENFORCEMENT OF DISCRIMINATORY ORDINANCE
On November 13, 2006, St. Bernard Parish agreed to suspend enforcement of a September 2006 ordinance barring single-family homeowners from renting to anyone except blood relatives without the special permission of the Parish Council. The agreement comes on the heels of the filing of a motion for preliminary injunction last week by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) and Wallace Rodrigue, both plaintiffs in the case.
FEBRUARY 2008 GNOFHAC SETTLES LAWSUIT AGAINST ST. BERNARD PARISH
On February 28, 2008, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center announced the settlement of its lawsuit against St. Bernard Parish regarding a discriminatory local ordinance. St. Bernard Parish has agreed to pay a $32,500 settlement over a 2006 ordinance, since repealed, that restricted the rental of a home to blood relatives of the owner. GNOFHAC alleged that the ordinance was racially discriminatory, since white individuals own 93% of all owner-occupied housing in St. Bernard Parish, and make up approximately 88% of the Parish's population.
JULY 2008 GNOFHAC SECURES ATTORNEY FEES FROM ST BERNARD PARISH
St. Bernard Parish must pay $123,771.92 in fees and costs to attorneys representing the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center and an individual plaintiff pursuant to a cour torder issued in Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center v. St. Bernard Parish et al, Case No. 06-7185, United State District Court, Eastern Division of Louisiana.
DECEMBER 2008 FAIR HOUSING CENTER SEEKS REPEAL OF ST. BERNARD PARISH MULTI-FAMILY MORATORIUM
The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) filed a motion on December 18th, 2008 seeking enforcement of a Consent Order entered on February 27, 2008, in Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center v. St. Bernard Parish et al, Case No. 06-7185, United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. GNOFHAC’s motion alleges that St. Bernard Parish’s recently enacted moratorium on multi-family housing violates the Consent Order, which enjoins the Parish from violating the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws that prohibit race discrimination.
MARCH 2009 GNOFHAC LAWSUIT AGAINST ST BERNARD PARISH GOES TO COURT
Testimony began on March 11, 2009 in lawsuit challenging St. Bernard Parish multi-family housing moratorium.
MARCH 2009 GNOFHAC WINS LAWSUIT AGAINST ST BERNARD PARISH; PARISH MUST RESCIND MORATORIUM
On March 25, 2009, the Honorable Judge Helen G. Berrigan granted the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center's (GNOFHAC) motion seeking enforcement of a Consent Order entered on February 7, 2008 in Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center v. St. Bernard Parish et al, Case No. 06-7185, United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. The February 27, 2008 Consent Order resolved GNOFHAC's challenge to a multi-family moratorium St. Bernard enacted immediately after Hurricane Katrina, as well as an ordinance that restricted the rental of single-family residences in St. Bernard Parish to those related by blood to the owner of the property.
JULY 2009 GNOFHAC WINS MOTION FOR CONTEMPT; ST BERNARD MUST PAY FEES, COSTS AND DAMAGES
On March 25, 2009, the Honorable Judge Helen G. Berrigan ruled that St. Bernard Parish violated a February 2008 Consent Order by banning the construction of multi-family housing in St. Bernard Parish. On July 22, 2009, Judge Berrigan held that by violating the Consent Order, the Parish was in contempt of the Order and that the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) and Provident Realty Advisors, Inc. can recover the costs expended in bringing the Parish's contemptuous conduct to light.
AUGUST 2009 FAIR HOUSING CENTER GRANTED SECOND MOTION FOR CONTEMPT AGAINST ST. BERNARD PARISH
On August 17, 2009, the Honorable Judge Helen G. Berrigan granted the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center's (GNOFHAC) and Provident Realty Advisors' second motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish. Judge Berrigan writes that by "subverting the re-subdivision process" to prevent Provident Realty Advisors from moving forward on construction of four multi-family housing units, the actions of St. Bernard Parish are discriminatory against African Americans in both intent and effect.
SEPTEMBER 2009 ST BERNARD PARISH COUNCIL CONSIDERS A BALLOT REFERENDUM THAT WOULD FORCE ANY DEVELOPER TO SEEK VOTER APPROVAL IN ORDER TO BUILD LARGE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PARISH
SEPTEMBER 2009 FAIR HOUSING CENTER GRANTED THIRD MOTION FOR CONTEMPT AGAINST ST BERNARD IN PART
On September 11, 2009, the Honorable Judge Helen G. Berrigan generally granted the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center’s (GNOFHAC) and Provident Realty Advisors’ third motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish. Judge Berrigan enjoins the Parish from “interfering or withholding approval of Provident’s re-subdivision applications,” deems Provident’s re-subdivision applications approved, sets forth several deadlines for Parish officials to meet in regards to the re-subdivision and building permit approval process, and establishes a daily sanction beginning at $5,000 the first day and increasing to $10,000 each day thereafter should the Parish “fail to meet any of the various deadlines without advance notice and good cause shown for their failure.” Further, Judge Berrigan awards damages and refers the issue of the amounts of damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to Magistrate Judge Shushan.
In her ruling, Judge Berrigan writes “this court has repeatedly found the stated justifications given by these officials to be unsound, contrived, pretextual, and racially discriminatory. In addition to depriving the parish of badly needed affordable housing across race lines, the continued opposition has also cost the taxpayers of St. Bernard Parish tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and threatens to cost them significantly more in the near future.”
OCTOBER 2009 ST BERNARD PARISH ISSUES PROVIDENT REALTY ADVISORS 4 BUILDING PERMITS
On October 1, 2009, St. Bernard Parish finally approved the building permits Provident Realty Advisors needed to start construction on four mixed income housing developments long delayed by the illegal and discriminatory actions of St. Bernard Parish officials. Parish Council members approved issuing the permits during a special meeting.
OCTOBER 2009 GNOFHAC FILES FOURTH MOTION FOR CONTEMPT AGAINST ST. BERNARD PARISH
On October 13, 2009, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) filed a fourth Motion for Contempt alleging St. Bernard Parish has violated the federal Fair Housing Act and a Consent Order. On September 15, 2009, Parish officials passed an ordinance to hold a public vote on a moratorium on multi-family housing. The special election is set for November 14, 2009.
OCTOBER 2009 ST BERNARD PARISH FILES NOTICE INDICATING THEY MAY RESCIND ORDINANCE
On October 21, 2009, St. Bernard Parish filed a notice with the court stating that they have introduced an ordinance to rescind the 2009 multi-family housing ban challenged in GNOFHAC’s Motion for Contempt.
NOVEMBER 2009 FAIR HOUSING CENTER KEEPS PRESSURE ON ST. BERNARD PARISH
While the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is pleased with the St. Bernard Parish Council’s vote to overturn an ordinance that would put a multi-family ban on the ballot for a public vote, it will continue to closely monitor the parish for any actions that violate the Fair Housing Act. GNOFHAC is especially troubled by comments made by parish officials and quoted in the Times-Picayune that seem to disregard the authority of federal courts and civil rights laws. Kate Scott, Interim Co-Director of GNOFHAC, comments, "We hope this move on the part of Parish officials to rescind the vote to ban multi-family housing signals a newfound commitment to open housing in St. Bernard Parish. We stand firm in our commitment to our mission of furthering equal housing opportunity throughout the region.