Anderson vs. Jackson was a class action

Class action

In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...

 lawsuit seeking injunctive relief to prevent the demolition of four New Orleans public housing developments that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

. The suit alleged that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and state and city housing agencies were in violation of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937

Housing Act of 1937

The Housing Act of 1937, sometimes called the Wagner-Steagall Act, provided for subsidies to be paid from the U.S. government to local public housing agencies to improve living conditions for low-income families....

, the Civil Rights Act of 1968

Civil Rights Act of 1968

On April 11, 1968 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 is commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, or as CRA '68, and was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964...

 (the Fair Housing Act), the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) planned to demolish and redevelop four deteriorated public housing developments:  B.W. Cooper

Calliope Projects

The B.W. Cooper Apartments is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and one of the housing projects of New Orleans, more commonly known by its former name, the Calliope Projects. This area of New Orleans gained nationwide fame/infamy for its extremely high violent crime rate, one which rivals...

, C.J. Peete

Magnolia Projects

The Magnolia Projects, officially the C.J. Peete Projects, was one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. As part of the ongoing redevelopment, the area has been renamed Harmony Oaks. The project was among the largest, housing approximately 2,100 people...

, St. Bernard

St. Bernard Projects

St. Bernard Projects was a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and was one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission were: Harrison Avenue to the north, Paris Avenue to the east, Lafreniere...

, and Lafitte

Treme

Tremé is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are Esplanade Avenue to the north, North Rampart Street to the east, St. Louis Street to the south and North Broad Street to the west...

 (collectively, "the Big Four"). After the Big Four suffered severe damage from Katrina, HANO proceeded with the plan for eventual demolition.

The lawsuit was dismissed by the district court and the dismissal was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...

.