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FEMA taken to court over hotel evictions, apartment issues
WWLTV.com ^ | December 8, 2005

Posted on 12/08/2005 4:00:43 PM PST by caryatid

Evacuees hoping to preserve a government program providing hotel rooms to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina have their day in court on Friday, when a federal judge hears an array of complaints against the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In addition to hearing claims that Katrina victims face unfair and premature eviction from hotels, Judge Stanwood Duval will hear testimony and arguments that FEMA has wrongfully denied rental assistance to some evacuees.

"We plan on calling three victims, at least two of whom are about to be evicted from hotels," said Howard Godnick, an attorney for evacuees, who is seeking to make the lawsuit a class-action on behalf of all Katrina evacuees.

FEMA had set a Dec. 1 deadline for ending the hotel program but extended it to Dec. 15 after widespread criticism. In addition, 10 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas -- will be allowed to apply for extensions lasting until Jan. 7.

But, even after extensions, some could face homelessness if the hotel program ends, Godnick argues. FEMA officials contend that anyone properly registered with FEMA and eligible to receive fedral assistance will have the tools and the funding they need to get temporary housing.

About 41,000 hotel rooms are now occupied under the FEMA program, which has cost the agency about $350 million so far, FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews said Thursday.

In addition to trying to preserve the hotel program, the lawsuit contains a long list of complaints about FEMA's response to Katrina.

For instance, it says that FEMA has unfairly applied a rule limiting housing assistance money to single households, meaning people living at the same address in the storm-struck areas could be forced to share one housing check if they are unrelated and were evacuated to different far-flung areas of the country. Also, the suit seeks to stop FEMA from trying to recoup aid checks that were meant for rent but were spent on other storm-related necessities, and to allow victims to continue receiving rental assistance even if their initial three-month allocation of rent money was not spent on rent but on other needs.

In their response to the lawsuit, government lawyers say the lawsuit should be dismissed under sovereign immunity laws that protect government agencies from liability in the performance of their duties.

Some of the claims in the lawsuit are moot, FEMA lawyers add, noting the single household rule and the rules governing use of the initial rent aid checks were waived after Katrina. Godnick counters that the government has failed to publicise those policy changes.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: callinthelawyers; evacuees; fema; happyhour; hotels; hurricanekatrina; katrina; lawsuit; roomservice
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About 41,000 hotel rooms are now occupied under the FEMA program, which has cost the agency about $350 million so far, FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews said Thursday.

How cruel and inhumane of us to want to deprive these folks of eternal room service, maid service and happy hours.

1 posted on 12/08/2005 4:00:45 PM PST by caryatid
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To: abb; alnick; Bitsy; Bogey780; CajunConservative; cajungirl; caryatid; Comus; daybreakcoming; ...

  ** Louisiana PING **


[ If you would like on/off the LA Ping List please FReepmail
me and your name will be added to or taken off of the list. ]


2 posted on 12/08/2005 4:01:41 PM PST by caryatid (Jolie Blonde, 'gardez donc, quoi t'as fait ...)
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To: caryatid

Right there in the Bill of Rights right.? Lines 31- 38...oh..wait..nevermind.


3 posted on 12/08/2005 4:04:04 PM PST by samadams2000 (Nothing fills the void of a passing hurricane better than government)
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To: caryatid

I'd take FEMA to court on the grounds there is no constitutional grounds for the agency to exist and for Congress to borrow and tax to support.


4 posted on 12/08/2005 4:04:28 PM PST by AZRepublican
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To: caryatid

I keep hearing in my head what the resident said a couple of weeks ago when this came down: "there ain't nothin to do except lay around and sleep all day".


5 posted on 12/08/2005 4:05:20 PM PST by SF Republican
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To: caryatid

I guess axin them to get a job, move themselves out and so on is axin too much..


6 posted on 12/08/2005 4:05:27 PM PST by GeorgiaDawg32 (Islam is a religion of peace and they'll behead 13 year old girls to prove it...)
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To: SF Republican

yea, I remember that..again, axin her to get a job is simply out of the question..


7 posted on 12/08/2005 4:06:23 PM PST by GeorgiaDawg32 (Islam is a religion of peace and they'll behead 13 year old girls to prove it...)
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To: caryatid
The best way to protect taxpayers from being sued because their gift was not "good enough" is to get taxpayers out of the "gift giving" business.
8 posted on 12/08/2005 4:08:16 PM PST by Mark was here (How can they be called "Homeless" if their home is a field?.)
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To: caryatid
***Un-P.C. ALERT*** I'm sorry to have to say this but... It took quite a while for me to get sick of the families of the 9/11 victims... Like when people started screaming that a couple million dollars wasn't enough...and the "Jersey Girls" crawled out from under a rock... But the Katrina victims started making me sick with their whiney demands, and victim mentality almost from the start. What a mess this is getting to be...with the biggest opportunity for unbridled social demands and bottomless pits of welfare almsot in history.... sr
9 posted on 12/08/2005 4:10:46 PM PST by seanrobins (http://www.seanrobins.com)
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To: caryatid
How cruel and inhumane of us to want to deprive these folks of eternal room service, maid service and happy hours.

Living the 'moving on up" dream of George Jefferson without paying for it. Schmucks.

10 posted on 12/08/2005 4:13:14 PM PST by peyton randolph (Warning! It is illegal to fatwah a camel in all 50 states)
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To: caryatid
FEMA should have known that once it took on the job of housing these folks it would be an obligation for life AND succeeding generations.
11 posted on 12/08/2005 4:14:52 PM PST by BenLurkin (O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
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To: GeorgiaDawg32

are you axin me? How do i know?


12 posted on 12/08/2005 4:15:34 PM PST by joem15
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To: caryatid

It's a big mess is all I can say. There isn't enough available housing for all of the people who need shelter and the money wasted on the hotel rooms and those ugly overpriced fema trailers could build a sturdy no frills house for just about all of them that would last for years.

I think it's stupid though to waste so much money on a very temporary housing. Too bad the able bodied one's aren't on some kind of work crew earning some money to stay in a permanent shelter. I would go nuts if I had to live in a hotel all of this time.

On a positive note, my cousin happens to own a large RV park and you can't slap the smile off of his face. His business was hurting earlier this year because of the high gas prices but he just plowed down the damaged buildings and made more parking spots. It is full to overflowing with a long waiting list.




13 posted on 12/08/2005 4:20:14 PM PST by CajunConservative (Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Jindal.)
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To: caryatid
..that FEMA has wrongfully denied rental assistance to some evacuees.

Are these people stupid, or simply lazy? Every convenience store, every liquor store and every grocery store has a rack of FREE magazines. These magazines sell cars, homes and they also provide FREE Apartment Locator services. All these people have to do, is call the Apartment Locator service, an agent will DRIVE to pick them up, and will personally escort them to a variety of apartments, so these people can chose which apartment best meets their 'Lifestyle'.

Add to this the fact that FEMA will pay up to $2,000/month for a family, these people can live better than I do ... and I have a job and I pay taxes.

14 posted on 12/08/2005 4:22:12 PM PST by Hodar (With Rights, come Responsibilities. Don't assume one, without assuming the other.)
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To: caryatid
Katrina obviously interrupted a life style of dependence.
15 posted on 12/08/2005 4:28:04 PM PST by luvbach1 (Near the belly of the beast in San Diego)
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To: Hodar

nothing wrong with your response other than the fact that they would then be taking care of themselves, and I'm afraid they don't want that..


16 posted on 12/08/2005 4:28:19 PM PST by GeorgiaDawg32 (Islam is a religion of peace and they'll behead 13 year old girls to prove it...)
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To: SF Republican

I keep hearing in my head what the resident said a couple of weeks ago when this came down: "there ain't nothin to do except lay around and sleep all day".""

Why am I cynical enough to think that this is NOT an isolated comment from just one of thousands that have been displaced by the hurricane??? Why??


17 posted on 12/08/2005 4:32:13 PM PST by ridesthemiles (ridesthemiles)
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To: luvbach1
Katrina obviously interrupted a life style of dependence.

Oh, I don't know about that! They seem to be more dependent than ever! LOL

18 posted on 12/08/2005 4:34:35 PM PST by caryatid (Jolie Blonde, 'gardez donc, quoi t'as fait ...)
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To: caryatid
Ya know, this is nutz. Just plain nutz.

Being born in the US does not entitle you to free room and board for a lifetime.

No contingency plan. Go with the flow. Well, the flow just got dumped in the street. Don't muddy the water on your way out.

I'm sorry about all this, but there is no FREE LUNCH. I don't want continue to pay for housing for people who are just taking advantage of the system. (Not that I wasn't before through HUD and Government Subsidized Housing.)

FEMA may have its faults, but if a displaced person knows the assistance is going to be short-term, she or he should come up with a plan to work and pay expenses like the rest of society.

Only problem is, the 'rest' of society isn't working and paying the bills, either. Just you and me, Fred, and I'm not so sure about you.

People who moved up here (mountains of North Georgia) have already found jobs and homes. Some didn't even ask for, nor receive, anything from FEMA. And I'm talking about people who lost their primary (and only) housing and all their belongings. The took what they could carry, moved up here, and set about making this place home.

Now, is that too hard to ask of everyone else?

Yeah, yeah, apparently so.
19 posted on 12/08/2005 4:36:38 PM PST by HighlyOpinionated (In Memory of Crockett Nicolas, hit and run in the prime of his Cocker Spaniel life, 9/3/05.)
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To: caryatid

Premature eviction is a common mens problem these days.


20 posted on 12/08/2005 5:40:13 PM PST by Sender (Team Infidel USA)
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