Kiefer & Kiefer Wins $3 Million Settlement for Nearly 1,000 Tenants of Hazardous New Orleans East Complex

For years, residents of the Willows Apartments, a 263-unit complex off the Interstate 10 Service Road near Crowder Boulevard in New Orleans East, dealt with conditions that made their homes unsafe: water leaks, widespread mold, and chronic air conditioning failures. The property was owned by Global Ministries Foundation, a Tennessee-based religious nonprofit that collected monthly rent while the building fell apart around its tenants.

Cierra and Michael Dobard served as lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed in 2023 on behalf of everyone who had leased at the Willows from January 1, 2014, through June 11, 2025. The legal theory was straightforward: every lease is a promise, and the owner broke it. As attorney Megan Kiefer put it, 'Essentially, you broke the promise. Every lease agreement is a promise from landlord to tenant.'

Kiefer pursued the case in federal court, arguing that tenants were owed back the rent they paid during a period when the property was not reasonably fit for habitation. The class action vehicle was unusual for this type of dispute. According to Kiefer, it was the first lawsuit of its kind in the country to seek rent reimbursement through a federal class action on behalf of apartment tenants in this situation.

U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe approved the $3 million settlement, clearing the way for nearly 1,000 former and current leaseholders to file claims. Payout amounts vary based on each tenant's length of residency, with longer-tenured residents qualifying for more. Some tenants are eligible for more than $10,000. The claim deadline for eligible residents was July 24, 2026.

The case carried consequences beyond the courtroom. Investigative reporting by Fox 8 Defenders journalist Meg Gatto had exposed the conditions at the Willows and prompted city and state officials to strip Global Ministries Foundation of its tax-exempt status. The complex subsequently fell into foreclosure and was sold at public auction in March 2026 to the Lee Adrion Company, a California-based firm that pledged a $13 million renovation.