Lawsuit challenges New Orleans evictions

NEW ORLEANS, Fla., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A lawsuit filed by a group of unions claims that landlords in New Orleans are unfairly evicting tenants scattered by Hurricane Katrina.

In some cases, tenants have received eviction notices for failure to pay rent during periods in which the rental property was uninhabitable, the suit said. In other cases, landlords have allegedly served notices of eviction at the New Orleans premises when they know the tenants are living elsewhere, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood Duval refused to issue a restraining order this week. Instead, he scheduled a hearing next Tuesday.

"While landlords may be taking advantage of the situation, some tenants may have not made a diligent effort to contact their respective landlords," Duval said in his ruling. "Under some circumstances, tenants are wrongly evicted, and under other circumstances, landlords are deprived of the income from their rental property."