When New Orleans demolished the Garretts’ house, without warning, they were stunned.
Instead of giving up, they fought back—and won—with PLF.
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New Orleans did send a notice to the former owner who lost the building to the city 18 years earlier in a tax sale. The city apparently forgot it had taken over the property and then sold it to the Garretts.
The absurdity—and incompetence—doesn’t stop there. The city not only refused to compensate David and Lourdes, but also slapped them with an $11,000 demolition bill when they filed a complaint.
In one fell swoop of a wrecking ball, New Orleans managed to violate a trifecta of constitutional protections: due process, property takings without compensation, and unreasonable seizure. So David and Lourdes went straight to federal court.
There, a federal judge dismissed the Garretts’ case, saying they must first exhaust all their legal options in state courts—where they knew their case would be all but dead on arrival.
That’s when they found Pacific Legal Foundation.
Representing the Garretts free of charge, PLF took their case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 22, 2018, the appeals court said that all of their claims can and should be heard in federal district court.
Thanks to PLF, the procedural nightmare is over for David and Lourdes. They can now take New Orleans to federal court and seek justice and compensation for the outrageous destruction of their property.
The impact of the Garretts’ win goes far beyond the Big Easy.
Their win sends a message to unaccountable bureaucrats around the country: you won’t get away with seizing and destroying people’s property in complete disregard for the Constitution, because your victims will get their day in court.
David and Lourdes Garrett still love New Orleans. And now they can fight so government bureaucrats can no longer rob hardworking Americans of their property—or dreams.
David and Lourdes Garrett fought the law and won—with PLF.
With PLF by their side, David and Lourdes Garrett vindicated their right to sue the city of New Orleans in federal court, where their case belongs.
The Constitution guarantees our right to just compensation when government takes (or demolishes) our property. Governments must be taken to task when they violate this.
Our nation’s founders understood that the right to responsibly and productively own and use property is fundamental to individual liberty.
Your support empowers victims
just like the Garretts.
Help the Garretts and others fight back.
Meet other Americans fighting the law—and winning—with PLF.
What happened to the Garretts could happen to anyone.
That’s why Pacific Legal Foundation exists: when government violates Americans’ constitutional rights, we empower them to fight back—and win.
PLF has 45 years of experience with the law, representing our clients free of charge and scoring precedent-setting victories in the nation’s highest courts, including 11 wins at the United States Supreme Court.
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A few years back, David and Lourdes Garrett vacationed in New Orleans
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The Texas couple loved New Orleans so much, they decided to retire there
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So the Garretts bought an old city-owned townhouse to rent or resell
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Four months later, the city tore down the Garretts’ townhouse—with no warning or payment
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Then the city slapped them with an $11,000 demolition bill
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A federal court turned them away when they tried to sue
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A federal court turned them away when they tried to sue
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The Garretts fought for their right to take New Orleans to federal court—and won with PLF
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A few years back, David and Lourdes Garrett vacationed in New Orleans
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The Texas couple loved New Orleans so much, they decided to retire there
David and Lourdes Garrett bought a rundown townhouse from New Orleans and planned to repair and rent it. But weeks later, without any notice, the city dispatched a bulldozer and leveled it. And then it sent the couple a bill for $11,000.
David Garrett bought a vacant townhouse overlooking Interstate 10 in New Orleans East for $7,010 in the city's big push last year to unload hundreds of blighted and abandoned properties through an
After tearing down a couple's property, the City of New Orleans is bound for court. David and Lourdes Garrett planned to renovate a dilapidated townhouse in the Big Easy that they purchased from...
Back in October, 2015, Mr. and Mrs. David Garrett bought some property from New Orleans. The city had owned the property since 1998, when it had acquired the land and building from its tax-delinquent owner, Charles Jett. During the following 17 years, the city let the building (a townhouse) deteriorate.
When David and Lourdes Garrett purchased a neglected townhouse from the City of New Orleans in 2015, they had plans to renovate it and rent it out. But they never had a chance. Approximately four months after the acquisition, the City demolished the building.
