Brad Pitt Archives - Proof with Jill Stanley

Brad Pitt Not Making it Right: His Foundation Faces a Lawsuit Over Defective Homes Built After Hurricane Katrina

If you thought Brad Pitt had his hands full with Angelina Jolie and their custody and child support battle, things seem to be only getting worse for the A-lister.

In 2005, the actor’s charity, the Make It Right Foundation, made a promise to build homes for victims in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward whose lives and residences were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, those homes apparently have not held up. Over a decade later, homeowners claim they are falling apart, and were “deficiently constructed and built.”

Currently, the charity has been hit with a class action lawsuit. Two of residents, Lloyd Francis and Jennifer Decuir, are the named plaintiffs and represent all of the people who moved into the defective homes. They allege that the houses are rotting, dangerous, and falling apart. Specific allegations include houses with mold, plumbing problems, rotting wood, poor air ventilation, gas leaks and electrical fires.

The foundation had promised to build 150 homes, but only about 109 homes were built. In one sense that’s good news for the foundation –less potential claimants.

An attorney for the group of homeowners, Ron Austin, told NOLA.com, “While the citizens of the 9th Ward are grateful to Brad Pitt, they are forced to file this lawsuit because the Make it Right Foundation built substandard homes that are deteriorating at a rapid pace while the homeowners are stuck with mortgages on properties that have diminished values.”

The named plaintiffs allege that by 2013 the Make It Right Foundation knew about the issues with the materials that were used to build the homes. They allege that the foundation never gave residents “notice of these design and material defects,” even though those residents were paying mortgages on the homes.

Furthermore, the foundation did send inspectors in 2016, 2017, and 2018, but never provided the residents with written reports of their findings. Then, when pressed on the issue, they allegedly told the homeowners that they first had to sign a packet, which Francis and Decuir are claiming contained NDAs and a binding arbitration document that needed their signatures.

Pitt isn’t named in this lawsuit and admittedly his foundation tried to “do good” and revive the Ninth Ward, but it doesn’t change the fact that these residents are living in sub-par homes and are facing second powerful round of stress and anxiety and money loss.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Divorce Turns Nasty: Here’s What You Need to Know

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Celebrity Divorce

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Hollywood love story is the stuff of legends. Pitt met Jolie in 2004 and, according to Jolie herself, “fell in love” while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The media had a field day with this one because, as we all know, Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. Marked by their ever-growing brood, for nearly a decade the couple would become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable.

It’s All About the Kids
Angelina had already adopted her son Maddox when she met Pitt and, in 2005, months into their relationship she adopted her daughter Zahara. Pitt filed to legally adopt both of the children and petitioned to have their last name officially changed to Jolie-Pitt (we really respected this hyphenation choice). From there the family grew. In 2006, Angelina announced that she was pregnant with her first biological child with Pitt, Shiloh, who was born in June 2006. In March 2007, the couple adopted once again–adding their son Pax to the family. In August 2008, they welcomed their biological twins, Knox and Vivienne. This brought the Jolie-Pitts up to 6 kids. Angelina said at the time, “It is chaos, but we are managing it and having a wonderful time.” And, it kind of always looked like they were.

The two didn’t officially announce an engagement until April 2012, and even that came after much speculation that the pair were separating, then marrying, then splitting, then staying together. They officially wed in August 2014. The couple, though a constant source of gossip and speculation, were known to have their children as their focus and, as such, generally flew under the radar. That was–at least–until September 2016.

Don’t Fly Private
On September 19th, 2016, Angelina filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. She also requested full physical custody of all six children and asked the judge to give Brad only visitation rights.

Reportedly Angelina’s decision to file resulted from an incident that allegedly happened on a private plane where the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services andFBI got involved. Very few details have been confirmed, but the incident reportedly involved Pitt and his eldest son Maddox. There were also whispers that Brad’s drinking–which he has allegedly since gotten help for at a rehabilitation center–had something to do with the incident. But, as any couple will tell you, a divorce rarely comes down to one incident.

Keep it out of Court
Early on the couple announced that they were going to hire private mediators to resolve all matters. This was a good decision as it would keep private information about the family and their finances out of the press. The US court system is public anyone who wants to see documents can do so, unless there is a protective order or they are sealed by the court. In most instances, having an open legal system is desirable and necessary, but in divorce and custody disputes, especially for the rich and famous, it can become very damaging. That’s exactly what is happening right now.

Jolie filed a document with the court and the rumors have not stopped flying. First, TMZclaimed that Jolie’s high-power celebrity divorce attorney, Laura Wasser, was quitting because Jolie was being so “hostile” in the divorce proceedings. Jolie’s rep quickly denied those rumors. Apparently, Wasser is still very much Jolie’s representative though other lawyers, from other law firms, appear to have joined the team.

Brad, a deadbeat dad?
Second, the couple is now starting to argue about money. In legal documents, Jolie claims that her ex “has paid no meaningful child support since separation.” Jolie is now asking the court for a child support order that include retroactive payments.

Accusing Brad of being a deadbeat dad? So much for keeping the kids out of it. The gloves are now off. A source close to Pitt said PItt has paid “easily millions” towards child support for their six children.” In fact, the source goes on to say that Pitt has paid “far more than any informal agreement would stipulate and far more than any judge would have ordered paid if there had been such an order.”

A rep for Jolie attempted to clarify the reasoning behind the court filing saying it was meant to “provide closure to the marriage in a way that clears a path toward the next stage of their lives and allows her and Brad to recommit as devoted co-parents to their children.”

The money talk has continued to flow and now Pitt’s people are claiming that he has paid $9 million in child support and that Jolie’s claims were retaliatory and “a thinly-veiled effort to manipulate media coverage.” And that’s when Brad spilled the tea about the other ways in which he supported Jolie and their children. He claims he paid $1.3 million in bills for Jolie and their children andloaned Jolie $8 million for her current residence.

Jolie’s camp fired back that Pitt treated the $8 million as a loan and that it is not equivalent to child support. Child support is not optional in California, where the matter is filed, and though Jolie has asked that Pitt pay only 50% of the children’s’ expenses, that has simply not been the case according to a representative for Jolie.

Now that the court is more involved, both Jolie and Pitt will have to turn over a great deal of documentation about who owes what to whom and how much. These are big numbers people, lots of kids and lots of publicity. Things are only going to continue to get messier.

Back to Private Mediation?
We at PROOF preferred when this couple was committed to keeping the matter out of the public eye and in the hands of private mediators. Let’s not forget, at the heart of this are six children. But, we do not know yet know what is true and what is not. Jolie must have had her reasons. She is, of course, a mother first.

To read more about Jolie-Pitt and other celebrity divorces, click here and here.

4 High Profile Celebrity Divorces You’ll Want to Read About

Amber Heard, Angelina Jolie, Assault, Brad Pitt, Celeb News, Celebrities, Celebrity News, Celebs and Divorce, Custody, Divorce, Drew Barrymore, Family Law, Jennifer Meyer, Johnny Depp, Toby Macguire, Will Kopelman

Celebrity news is always a hot topic. Love and dating life of celebs hotter. And celeb divorce probably the hottest. That’s because nothing gives us better insight into the personal lives of the rich and famous more than learning what goes on in the family law courtroom and the celeb news about divorce, annulment, custody, property settlement, and paternity just to name a few of the types of cases that fall into the family law arena.

PROOF is taking a look at some recent big (translation: sad) divorce cases and providing insight into these stories that rocked the celebrity news world. And to provide further insight into these divorces and the fact that divorce is more prevalent in Hollywood, especially among two celeb homes, consider these words from therapist Lindsey M.Hoskins, “There are several reasons that celebrity relationships are uniquely challenging. First, celebrities often spend a great deal of time apart from each other due to their busy travel and shooting schedules, making it difficult to prioritize the relationship. Second, a relationship in which both partners are used to being the center of attention presents challenges related to compromise and being able to put the other person’s needs ahead of one’s own. Third, many celebrities are exposed to almost constant opportunities to explore other relationships. Over time, the temptation can be difficult to resist, and infidelity is common in celebrity couples for this reason.”

Drew Barrymore & Will Kopelman

On July 15, 2016, after four years of marriage, wild-child-turned-Earth-mother Drew Barrymore filed for divorce from art consultant husband Will Kopelman. The two confirmed that they were separated in April 2016 but the “Santa Clarita Diet” actress didn’t file the docs until mid summer. The fallen lovebirds have two daughters, Olive and Frankie. The pair issued a joint statement at about their split, it read: “Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family. Divorce might make one feel like a failure, but eventually you start to find grace in the idea that life goes on. Our children are our universe, and we look forward to living the rest of our lives with them as the first priority.”

On a personal note, we’re sad about this one. Will seemed so solid, such a good long term choice for Drew and we really wanted her to live happily ever after with him and her girls. Though the two are not officially divorced, there has been no talk whatsoever of reconciliation. But it’s clear these two are going to handle the divorce and the future running of their family with grace and ease–can’t say that about the rest of the fallen couples on this list.

Amber Heard & Johnny Depp

In a pretty surprising turn of events, Amber Heard filed for divorce from Johnny Depp on May 25, 2016 after a mere 15 months of marriage. Heard cited irreconcilable differences in her divorce petition. Then, all hell broke loose.

What do we mean by that? Well, let’s start with the fact that on May 27, Heard was granted a restraining order against the beloved “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor and also that photos surfaced that appeared to support Heard’s claims of physical abuse at the hands of Depp. To say Hollywood was thrown into a tizzy about this is an understatement. Almost a year later, we at PROOF remain somewhat perplexed that so many in Hollywood seemed to rush to support Depp and, at the same time, alienate Heard.

After months of arguing, legal wrangling, and excoriating public commentary, Heard and Depp finalized their divorce in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2017. The two worked out a settlement that included Depp agreeing to pay Heard $7 million (as well as money towards her legal fees, among other things). Ahh, if only things were that simple though. What seemed like a clean settlement became quite murky due to Heard doing a PSA on domestic violence when part of the divorce agreement mandated that she stay mum on the subject as well as the complex nature of Depp’s payout, which was to go solely to charities. And, can we add, we were impressed by Heard’s choice to forego the big payout and seek to do good out of something not-so-good.

Tobey Maguire & Jennifer Meyer

These two have not officially filed papers yet but they have announced their separation (and McGuire has been photographed out and about. And by out and about we mean kissing other women in public). After nine years of marriage and thirteen years together, Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer told the world they were splitting. They have two children, Ruby, 9, and Otis, 7. The exes, who met in 2003 and were married four years later in Hawaii, issued this joint statement: “After much soul searching and consideration we have made the decision to separate as a couple. As devoted parents, our first priority remains raising our children together with enduring love, respect and friendship.” It’s an encouraging sign that so many Hollywood couples seem to be quite clear on their post-marriage goals regarding their children: protecting them and making sure their lives remain as stable, good, and happy as possible.

While Maguire and Meyer (trying saying that five times fast!) announced their separation last October, as of this writing, it does not appear that divorce documents have been filed. No news may be good news with this couple. Perhaps they are working it out? We surely hope so despite those pics of Maguire.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

Of course, for last, we saved the the biggest divorce case of the year (maybe the decade) in celebrity news. Here ya go …

In September 2016, Angelina Jolie shocked the world when she filed for divorce from her superstar hubby Brad Pitt, asking for full custody of their six children, Maddox, Zahara, Pax, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.

The trouble began during the family’s international flight on September 14, 2016 which ended abruptly at Minnesota’s International Falls Airport (trouble likely didn’t begin there but that was the first public report of something amiss in the child rearing category in the Jolie-Pitt family). Reports suggested that a drunk Pitt lunged at 15-year-old Maddox on the flight. In November, Pitt was cleared of abuse allegations after the LA County Department of Children and Family Services investigated. But, while the investigation was pending, Pitt was not allowed to see his children. Once it was resolved, he was granted supervised visits.

Pitt has been on the offensive since that fateful flight, and on Dec. 21, 2016, asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to seal any future court documents pertaining to the exes’ kids and to keep any further custody disputes private. Jolie agreed. And, we are not surprised by that. Though the couple’s breakup opened up a media can of worms they are trying to put a lid back on things and keep their names out of celebrity news’ headlines. In fact, on January 6, 2017, they released a joint statement, in which they made known their intention to hire a private judge to handle the matter. The press release stated: ”The parties and their counsel have signed agreements to preserve the privacy rights of their children and family by keeping all court documents confidential and engaging a private judge to make any necessary legal decisions and to facilitate the expeditious resolution of any remaining issues.” The statement continued, “The parents are committed to act as a united front to effectuate recovery and reunification.”

Though we at PROOF would have liked to have access to legal documents in this matter so we can reduce the amount of gossip and untruths coming out about this family’s breakup, given the situation, the number of children, and the very high profile nature of the parties, we applaud this move by Pitt and Jolie. Nice to see adults acting like adults and in the best interest of their children.

Seeking more celebrity news? Check out other PROOF articles. We cover celebrity news like no one else!