Suit alleges post-hurricane discrimination

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Two civil rights groups and five New Orleans homeowners filed a discrimination suit against Louisiana's hurricane rebuilding program.

The class-action suit filed in federal court in Washington, alleged the Louisiana Road Home program awards smaller rebuilding grants to black homeowners than to white homeowners in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, USA Today reported Wednesday. The action also claimed the program's formula to calculate grant awards was biased against home in predominantly black neighborhoods.

"HUD and Louisiana have failed to honor the noble promise of this program," attorney Joseph Sellers, representing the homeowners, told USA Today.

"The Road Home program does not discriminate," the agency said in a statement.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority, administrator of the $11 billion program, bases grants on the lesser of the pre-storm value of the house or the rebuilding cost. Its weekly report indicated the authority had awarded $7.3 billion in grants as of Oct. 28.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, said home values in predominately black neighborhoods were lower than values of comparable homes in white neighborhoods. Sellers told USA Today that the state agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the program, violated the federal Fair Housing Act by relying on pre-storm value and that grants should be based on repair costs.