Make It Right Allegedly in the Wrong

Brad Pitt's nonprofit housing foundation Make It Right developed more than 100 modular and affordable homes in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Now, some residents are threatening to sue.

The residents of more than 24 of the homes allege that the foundation hasn't kept its word. Attorney Ron Austin is filing the suit on the residents' behalf, telling New Orleans news station WWL-TV, “Essentially, Make It Right was making a lot of promises to come back and fix the homes that they initially sold these people and have failed to do so," citing repairs to roofs, porches, steps, and mold contamination damage, adding, "We have some people who have gotten sick, or we believe to be sick.” Fast Company says that this isn't the first legal issue for Make It Right, citing its lawsuit against manufacturer TimberSIL in 2015, and the suit brought against Make It Right this year by modular home installer Method Homes, after failing to receive a payment for a project on Montana’s Fort Peck Reservation.

Billed as energy-efficient, LEED Platinum-certified structures designed by star architects including Frank Gehry, David Adjaye, and others—and bolstered by the support of fellow celebrities, from Oprah to Ellen Degeneres—the ambitious philanthropic undertaking was even awarded a 2016 National Design Award by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, among the design industry’s highest honors. Much of the foundation’s troubles likely stem from a lack of leadership, as Make It Right’s CEO Tom Darden, along with several of its board of directors, including its former Director of Innovations, Tim Duggan, were reported to have exited in 2016. To date, neither position appears to be filled on Make It Right’s staff page, nor are they listed on its current job listings page.

Read more