ROAD HOME PROGRAM

What was the Road Home Program?

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Congress distributed billions of dollars in disaster relief to five states that were affected by these storms. In response to this, the State of Louisiana created the Road Home Program, designed to distribute these funds to Louisiana homeowners. Louisiana residents were given up to $150,000 in grants through the Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery Unit (OCD-DRU). By June of 2010, the State of Louisiana became responsible for reviewing and handling all the noncompliance with the State. Because of this, in the past several years, OCD-DRU have filed many lawsuits against the recipients of these grants, stating that funds were misused or used for purposes other than what was outlined in the agreement. However, each case is unique, fact-intensive, and therefore should be handled on a case-by-case basis.



Why is the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery Unit (OCD-DRU) suing me?

When you signed the contract for the Road Home Program, it stated many different requirements for how the money should be spent. Now, the State believes that you have been “non-compliant” with these funds. This is even though the State continuously made confusing statements on their website, and the Road Home advisers gave contradictory advice to grant recipients. Now the State of Louisiana is suing those who received funding 15 years ago in order to get the money back.



What should I do next?

If you are being sued by the State, you need to seek legal advice from an attorney knowledgable about these matters. If you have been served with a citation and the petition, as of January 1, 2022, you have 21 days to file an answer (prior to 2022, the law provided you with 15 days for in-state defendant and 30 days for an out-of-state defendant) after service. La. C.C.P. art. 1001. The current law also states if the State files and serves a discovery request along with the petition, then you will have 30 days to file an answer. Id.



Why is filing an answer so important?

The consequences may be devastating if you fail to answer a petition. More importantly if you fail to raise affirmative defenses against the State you may not be allowed to raise them later without permission from the court. There are two parts you have to consider when being sued by OCD-DRU, which is detailed below:

• Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1003 provides that in an answer a defendant “shall admit or deny the allegations of the petition ... [and] state in short and concise terms the material facts upon which the defenses to the action asserted are based.” Essentially the purpose of an answer is to respond to the allegations contained within the State's petition. Further, “No technical forms of pleading are required” in Louisiana and “[e]very pleading shall be construed as to do substantial justice.” La. C.C.P. arts. 854 and 865. See Citadel Builders, L.L.C. v. Dirt Worx of Louisiana, L.L.C.,14-495 (La. App. 5 Cir. 11/25/14); 165 So.3d 117, 121, rev'd, 2014-2700 (La. 5/1/15); 165 So.3d 908.

• Under La. C.C.P. arts. 1003 and 1005, you should pled an affirmative defense within same document as the answer. Snearl v. Mercer, 1999-1738 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2/16/01), 780 So.2d 563, 572, writ denied, 2001-1319 (La. 6/22/01), 794 So.2d 800, and writ denied, 2001-1320 (La. 6/22/01), 794 So.2d 801; See also La. C.C.P. arts. 1003 and 1005. Basically, the purpose of raising an affirmative defense is that it requires that certain defenses be affirmatively pled to give fair and adequate notice of the nature of the defense, preventing last minute surprise. An affirmative defense is "a new matter that, assuming the allegations in the petition to be true, constitutes a defense to the action and will have the effect of defeating plaintiff's demand on its merits." Aucoin v. Larpenter, 2020-0792, p. 7 (La.App. 1 Cir. 4/16/21); 324 So.3d 626, 633, writ denied, 2021-00688 (La. 9/27/21); 324 So.3d 87.

If you fail to do these things, there is a more than a certain chance that you will be unsuccessful in your defense against OCD-DRU. If you ultimately lose the case, there will be a judgment against you. Further, you will not only have to pay the alleged grant amount back, but you will also be responsible for paying court costs and other legal fees. In addition, the State could put a lien on your home, garnish your wages, or repossess your home and belongings.

What are "unmet needs"?

If the State considers you "non-compliant," this means they consider you not to have met their obligations. In such cases, the State considers the amount of money you have received by the government overpaid or that you owe the State money for failing to meet their "obligations." OCD-DRU states that there are several circumstances beyond the grant recipient's control, which will be considered to be given credit as an "unmet need." Some of the examples are as follows:

• Contractor/builder fraud
• Involuntary forced mortgage payoff
• Theft/vandalism
• Damage from a subsequent event prior to completion of repairs
• Contaminated drywall
• Interim Housing
  

The State claims that if you have received a "Road Home Elevation Incentive" (RHEI) award and have not yet met the compliance terms associated with the award agreement are eligible to have costs considered for re-classification." The State claims that this is because "the primary goal of the Road Home Program is to enable applicants to return and occupy their homes this policy enables RHEI award amounts that have been used for home repair and reconstruction to be more accurately re-classified as part of the [your] compensation award."



What can the Khan Law Firm do for you?

If you have received a letter, contact us for more information. We will meet with you to see the best possible course of action and defenses. In a case-by-case basis, there may even be a claim against OCD-DRU, wherein you may prevail. Our team at the Khan Law Firm has extensive experience in representing those who have been revictimized by the State of Louisiana. We help protect the rights and property of those who lived through the greatest challenge the State of Louisiana has ever seen.

Some of the cases that Ms. Khan has worked on include: