[StBernard] GNOFHAC wins motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

GNOFHAC wins motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish  
 
Posted: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 9:12 am
 
On this past Wednesday, 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. As a result of
the ruling, the Parish and Council will be required to bear the full costs
of their contemptuous conduct by paying fees, costs, and damages to the
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) and Provident
Realty Advisors, Inc.
  
The ruling is GNOFHAC's second win in a winding case seeking to insure
fair-housing opportunity in St. Bernard Parish. Over the course of the
multi-year litigation, GNOFHAC has successfully challenged St. Bernard's two
multi-family construction moratoria, and an ordinance that restricted the
rental of single-family residences to those related by blood to the owner of
the property.
  
In her July 22 ruling, Judge Berrigan writes, "In short, the Parish and the
Council left Plaintiffs with no choice but to take on the costly task of
enforcing this Court's Order through litigation.  For this reason...the
Parish and the Council should be held in contempt and ordered to make
Plaintiffs whole by bearing the full costs of their contemptuous conduct
prior to the date of the Court's ruling on March 25, 2009."
  
Relman & Dane PLLC represented GNOFHAC in this matter.
  
"Judge Berrigan's ruling sends a strong message to both St. Bernard Parish
and neighboring communities that fair and affordable housing opportunities
must be allowed in our region," GNOFHAC executive director James Perry said
Wednesday.
  
The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is a private
non- profit organization. The Center was established by a group of concerned
New Orleanians in 1995 with the help of the National Fair Housing Alliance
and a grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development. GNOFHAC is dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination and
furthering equal housing opportunities through education, outreach,
advocacy, and enforcement of fair housing laws across the metro New Orleans
and Baton Rouge areas.

This article was originally published in the July 27, 2009 print edition of
The Louisiana Weekly newspaper