Mega-star Brad Pitt, no doubt, had good intentions when he started his charity. But according to an attorney for Hurricane Katrina victims, homes built in New Orleans by the Make It Right Foundation charity are defective.  They have serious problems and are filled with dangerous mold and wood rot.

Brad Pitt’s foundation built 109 post-Katrina homes in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The non-profit formed in 2006, focused on the community where many people were displaced by the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The “affordable” homes cost $150,000 each. And the experimental, environmentally-friendly homes turned out to be defective.

Katrina Survivors face another disaster

New Orleans Attorney Ron Austin filed a lawsuit on behalf of residents in 2018 and they are still seeking answers from Pitt and his organization.

Austin alleges that the houses were “deficiently constructed and built” with “defective products” that caused mold, poor air quality, structural failures, faulty heating, ventilation and cooling, electrical malfunctions, plumbing mishaps, and rotting wood.

“They believed in Brad Pitt. They believed in the dream he sold them … Unfortunately, what they got is a bunch of broken promises… living in rotten houses that should be torn down to the ground and started over,” Austin told Newsnation’s Ashleigh Banfield on Thursday.

Brad Pitt charity being sued, sues architect

The housing development has been in disarray for several years. At least 7 of the homes have been boarded up and abandoned. Residents cannot sell the houses because of their unresolved construction-related issues.

Termites and toxic mold may be responsible for the death of one resident. The litigation has been ongoing since 2017. And many homeowners are involved with pending lawsuits.

In September 2018 Make It Right acknowledged the problems when the non-profit sued its principal architect. The case filed in Civil District Court alleges that John C. Williams’ defective design work led to leaks and other problems in the homes.

 According to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Victor J. Franckiewicz, Jr. just repairs for damage caused by rain and humidity could cost Make It Right $20 million (as of 2018).

Actor Distancing from Make it Right

Sources revealed that in 2018 Brad Pitt forked over millions out of his own pocket to help fix the homes. But they weren’t built to withstand Louisiana’s tropical climate, according to the lawsuit.

Pitt’s attorneys have tried to distance him from the charity since 2018. And they even filed to have the actor’s name taken off of the lawsuit by claiming he wasn’t responsible for the construction.

“Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to turn. Brad Pitt and the foundation have closed their offices,” Austin said. The Brad Pitt charity, operating as a nonprofit, has now apparently become defunct.

Ashleigh Banfield reported that Pitt’s “attorneys have made it clear that he has no legal liability for the decisions made by others, but Brad remains personally committed to doing whatever he can to help resolve the ongoing litigation. It was always something that was important to him from the beginning, and he very much wants to help facilitate this getting to a much more positive end.”