A class action against the city of New Orleans?

I don't know how these things work, or if it is even possible, but I do know that I've heard a lot of talk in the past month or so that perhaps there will be a class action lawsuit filed against the city in response to their inability to effectively police their citizens. Certainly, it makes sense. In the past two years, in spite of increasing crime and unrest, virtually no action has been taken. The police are rarely seen outside of their cars. Records are not kept and not released. Police ignore calls or dispatch never bothers delivering the information. An independent report was commissioned and ignored. And so on...

But, given the level of inertia in city hall, would even filing a class action inspire anything other than a vigorous defense?