A Federal Court Ruling That Ordered the Government to Pay Retroactive and Prospective Housing Benefits to Hurricane Katrina Evacuees Has Now Been Appealed by FEMA
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
On December 5, 2006, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) filed an appeal from a federal district court order that had held that FEMA unlawfully terminated housing assistance to Hurricane Katrina survivors without providing adequate notice of the reasons for the terminations. Following the filing of FEMAs appeal, the plaintiffs attorneys LSC-funded Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a motion in the district court seeking to compel FEMA to develop a plan to implement the courts order. On December 13, 2006, the district court will hold a hearing at which FEMA will be asked to explain its plan for implementing the order. The district court denied a request by FEMA to stay implementation of the order. The lawsuit was filed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Although FEMA appealed the decision, it remains under court order to restore aid to the evacuees. Wanda Jones, a Katrina survivor and member of ACORN, says, ACORN members will continue to push FEMA to put a quick procedure in place to get the people the assistance we were wrongly denied. It is long past due for FEMA to live up to its responsibilities and help families get on their road home to recovery.