Nixon Peabody LLP
Catherine E. Tenney
In the fall of 2006, the Mississippi Center for Justice asked Nixon Peabody to prepare a guidebook on the appeals process of the Mississippi Development Authority’s homeowner Assistance Grant Program. This program was intended to assist Mississippi residents whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but it had received a large amount of negative publicity because of perceived arbitrariness in the grant awards and the lack of procedural guidance. The guidebook put together by the team from Nixon Peabody was the first comprehensive guide to the appeals process, and it amazed us how difficult it was to nail down details on such a critical aspect of the program. No wonder the homeowners in Mississippi had been so frustrated!
We’ve updated the guide several times since then. Each time we’ve noticed more positive press about the program, with millions of dollars worth of grants being distributed to very deserving homeowners. It is incredibly gratifying to know that we had a small part in smoothing out this process! The guide has also been invaluable to the attorneys from Nixon Peabody who are representing individual homeowners in their appeals. With more than two dozen attorneys working on these cases out of eight different offices, the guide and accompanying website have served as a repository for all of the practice tips accumulated along the way, and we plan to keep updating our materials as long as there is a need.