The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is pleased to announce that its “Equal Opportunity Game” youth workshop has been selected as a winner of the Ashoka Changemakers “Activating Empathy” competition. The purpose of the “Activating Empathy” competition is to identify innovative projects that build empathy and leadership skills in young people. GNOFHAC’s game […]

On Tuesday, January 31, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) along with several individual St. Bernard Parish property owners filed a lawsuit in federal court against St. Bernard Parish alleging that the permissive use permit process (PUP process) adopted by the Parish in 2006 is racially discriminatory in violation of the Fair […]

On December 2, 2011, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) and bona fide complainant “Jane Doe” filed suit against Ore Duckworth, a landlord in New Orleans, LA for discrimination on the basis of sex, including severe, pervasive and unwelcome sexual harassment, battery and assault. The lawsuit stems from multiple incidents that occurred between […]

On November 11, 2011, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) filed suit against Maureen Dowty, a landlord in Mandeville, Louisiana, for discrimination in the rental of housing on the basis of race and national origin. The lawsuit stems from tests conducted by GNOFHAC. During these tests, Dowty told GNOFHAC’s Latino tester that […]

On October 17, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued an order holding St. Bernard Parish and the Parish Council in contempt for violating the terms of a 2008 Consent Order, which among other things enjoins them from violating the Fair Housing Act. Plaintiffs GNOFHAC and Provident Realty Advisors, Inc. […]

New Orleans landlords Betty Bouchon, the Bouchon Limited Family Partnership and Sapphire Corp., have agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging they unlawfully denied housing to African-American prospective renters at a 16-unit apartment building located in New Orleans. In December 2010, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action […]

CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS SETTLE HURRICANE KATRINA HOUSING DISCRIMINATION CASE AGAINST HUD AND LOUISIANA – STATE AMENDS PROBLEMATIC HURRICANE RELIEF PROGRAM Today, African-American homeowners and two civil rights organizations announced a settlement in a post-Hurricane Katrina housing discrimination lawsuit brought against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of Louisiana regarding the […]

After defying a federal judge’s order for more than two weeks and garnering $40,000 in fines, St. Bernard Parish today issued building permits for three of four contentious mixed-income apartment construction sites in Chalmette. 7-6-11 Read the nola.com article “St. Bernard Parish Issues Contentious Apartment Building Permits” here. 7-8-11 Read the nola.com editorial “St. Bernard Parish officials get […]

On June 30, 2011, the Honorable Judge Helen Berrigan issued an order, partially granting the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center’s (GNOFHAC) latest emergency motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish. The order also requires the Parish to issue permits for Provident Realty Advisors’ sites Woodlands, Parc Place, and Magnolia by 3pm on July […]

On June 22, 2011, the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) filed an emergency motion for contempt against St. Bernard Parish. The motion “requests that the Court issue an immediate order enforcing its June 20, 2011 Order; ordering Defendants to immediately provide water taps and authorize the release of electricity; holding Defendants in […]