Defendant's Attorney: David Scranton Daly, Allen Joseph Krouse, III, Elliot Mitchell Lonker, Suzanne Marie Risey

Description: New Orleans, Louisiana consumer credit lawyers represented Plaintiffs, who sued Defendants on Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violation theories.


This case arises from alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) stemming from Defendants' attempt to collect repayment of grant funds Plaintiffs received from the Louisiana Road Home program following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[6] In response to the devastation these hurricanes caused, the federal government appropriated disasterrelief funds to affected areas, including Louisiana, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (“HUD”) Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”).[7] HUD authorized the state of Louisiana to distribute the federal funds to its constituents.[8] The state tasked the Louisiana Office of Community Development (the “OCD”) and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (the “LRA”) with administering the Road Home program, which distributed CDBG funds through grants to Louisiana homeowners who sustained unreimbursed hurricane-related damage.[9] One such grant was the homeowners' compensation grant, which both Plaintiffs received. Its purpose was to compensate for damages incurred and to mitigate against future damages from hurricanes and similar natural disasters.[10] As part of the Road Home application process, applicants like Plaintiffs were required to disclose any funds they received from either the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) or from a private insurer for hurricane-related damage to their homes.[11] The grant was based on a formula: the OCD would calculate the damage it believed the storm had caused to applicants' homes, less any FEMA or insurance payments applicants had received for the same damage.[12] The OCD subtracted FEMA and insurance payments to avoid awarding “duplicate benefits.”[13] Plaintiff Iris Calogero contracted with the OCD for a homeowners' compensation grant on May 11, 2007, and received $33,393.[14]Plaintiff Margie Nell Randolph contracted with the OCD for the same kind of grant on June 30, 2007, and received $28,793.[15] When Plaintiffs signed their grant agreements, they acknowledged
their obligation to report duplicate payments, past or future, and acknowledged that they could be sued for the failure to do so.[16]...

Outcome: 07/12/2022 244 ORDER AND REASONS: denying 127 Motion to Certify Class; denying 162 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 174 Motion for Summary Judgment; granting 212 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 214 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 215 Motion for Summary Judgment; denying as moot 220 Motion to Strike 127 MOTION to Certify Class , as stated herein. Signed by Judge Barry W Ashe on 07/12/2022. (am) (Entered: 07/12/2022)
07/12/2022 245 JUDGMENT: IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that there be judgment in favor of defendant Shows, Cali & Walsh, LLP DISMISSING all of plaintiffs' claims for relief against it, with prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that there be judgment in favor of defendant Mary Catherine Cali DISMISSING all of plaintiffs' claims for relief against her, with prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that there be judgment in favor of defendant John C. Walsh DISMISSING all of plaintiffs' claims for relief against him, with prejudice. Signed by Judge Barry W Ashe on 07/12/2022.(am) (Entered: 07/12/2022)

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