Successful Legal Challenge of FEMA Teaches Important Lesson about Having an Experienced Attorney on Your Side!
Need further proof about the power of having an experienced lawyer in your corner? Just take a look at the successful legal challenge of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which resulted in more than 1,000 households of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and Rita becoming eligible for housing assistance benefits.
Lawyers with Public Citizen helped individual hurricane evacuees and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) bring a lawsuit against FEMA after the agency cut housing benefits to thousands of evacuee households in August 2006. The lawyers alleged that FEMA did not provide adequate notice of the reasons why the benefits were denied and also failed to provide any steps for evacuees to try to restore those benefits, and a U.S. District Court judge agreed.
Judge Richard J. Leon for the District of Columbia specifically ruled that the manner in which FEMA cut off the housing benefits was a violation of the Constitution. He ordered the federal agency needed to provide clearer notices of the reasons for cutting housing benefits and send better notices of the reasons for denial to more than 4,000 evacuee households. FEMA was also required to allow evacuees the opportunity to appeal denials for further housing assistance and to adjudicate any resulting appeals following the decision.
FEMA has already begun dealing with resulting appeals, with at least 1,069 evacuee households having had their status changed from ineligible to eligible. Benefits for household evacuees will depend on the size of their homes, but are estimated to be approximately $750 per month on average.
The President of Public Citizen expressed her pleasure with the decision. Joan Claybrook specifically said that these evacuees finally got the benefits they deserved after being victimized by not only these natural disasters but also their own government's incompetence in providing adequate relief.
According to the Public Citizen lawyer who litigated the case against FEMA, the lawsuit will result in about $6 million in additional benefits for hurricane survivors. Michael Kirkpatrick also added how due process made a big difference in this case, which reveals a valid point about the importance of having an experienced lawyer on your side.
Whether you've been charged with DUI or arrested for a criminal offense, or need to learn more about filing for divorce or bankruptcy, a local lawyer can assess your current situation, explain your legal rights and options, and help you determine what steps may be next.
Being charged for a crime or even bringing a personal injury lawsuit against someone else can be an extremely daunting and difficult task when faced alone. From learning more about the specifics of the DUI laws in your state to navigating the hundreds of pages of the Internal Revenue Code, a local lawyer can provide you with the help you need and be an invaluable guide throughout your litigation!