Deakins v. United States

3 Cl. Ct. 97, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1740
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMay 20, 1983
DocketNo. 256-81C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 3 Cl. Ct. 97 (Deakins v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deakins v. United States, 3 Cl. Ct. 97, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1740 (cc 1983).

Opinion

OPINION

COLAIANNI, Judge.

This case is before the court on cross-motions for summary judgment pursuant to RUSCC 56, formerly Rule 101 of the Rules of the United States Court of Claims. Plaintiff alleges, in connection with a construction project under a rural housing loan program, that the government changed the previously agreed to plans and specifications in the course of the construction of low-cost housing, resulting in damage to the plaintiff in the approximated amount of $100,000.1 The government maintains that the claims raised by the plaintiff are beyond the jurisdiction of this court, that there was no warranty of plaintiff’s construction design and therefore that he has failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted, and that the government has met any obligation it had to the plaintiff.

Upon review of the motions presented and the supporting documentation, and following oral argument by the parties, it is concluded that no genuine issue of material facts exists in this case and that plaintiff’s claims are within the jurisdiction of this court, but that there is no liability on the part of the government for the damages allegedly suffered by the plaintiff in this case. Therefore, plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is denied and defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment is granted.

The facts as presented by the parties are as follows.

Facts

Plaintiff is a developer and contractor who owned a parcel of land in Greene County, Tennessee. Plaintiff planned to develop his property into a subdivision of low-cost housing to be known as Crockett Timbers. While the exact plans for the subdivision are not clear, it appears that at least twenty single-family dwellings were eventually to be constructed by plaintiff. However, it is the first ten of these, all of which were substantially completed at the time of the controversy, which are of primary concern here.

Plaintiff undertook construction in conjunction with a federal rural housing (RH) loan program under § 502 of Title V of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1472. The program contemplated the issuance of Rural Housing Conditional Commitments by the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) to qualified developers and sellers to encourage the availability of rural housing and, also, to provide a source of mortgage money to qualified buyers.2 According to the regulations in effect at the time, the objective to be achieved in issuing conditional commitments was—

to encourage construction and rehabilitation of dwellings in rural areas by providing builders and sellers with conditional assurance that dwellings to be built or rehabilitated will meet FmHA lending requirements and that, subject to the availability of funds, FmHA will make loans to qualified loan applicants to buy the homes.

7 C.F.R. § 1822.302.

In order to obtain such a commitment, the builders or sellers, in addition to meeting certain eligibility requirements, also had to make written requests to the FmHA for each dwelling for which financing was [99]*99sought. Included in the application was a “Property Information and Appraisal Report,” plus an application fee for each unit. The FmHA County Supervisor had the responsibility for evaluating the applications for conditional commitments and approving them if all requirements were met. Approval was signified by the County Supervisor’s signing and issuing the conditional commitment Form FmHA 444-11.

Preliminary approval for the Crockett Timbers subdivision was given by the county planning commission of Greene County in 1975. Thereafter, the subdivision plans were forwarded to the FmHA state office to receive its approval for FmHA loan funds. Preliminary approval was granted, but it was subject to the receipt of certain additional information concerning the subdivision plans, including soil absorption data. Although plaintiff submitted additional information to the state FmHA office, final approval was withheld in order to permit the FmHA county supervisor to review the drainage plan for the subdivision. In addition, the builder was told that each of the homes were to have a septic tank system that conformed to local health department requirements.

Supplemental proposals of the plaintiff were submitted by the County Supervisor to the state office which, as a result, authorized the processing of the loans. Eventually, conditional commitments were issued for lots 1 through 10 of section 1. Attached to each commitment was a permit, which was approved by the local health authority, for the construction of a specially designed subsurface sewage system.

Thereafter, the first six houses in the subdivision3 were built, inspected and sold with FmHA loans. Soon, however, the owners of one of these properties began to experience problems with their septic system, as well as problems with standing water, which they attributed to drainage from adjacent lots. An inspection by the county health department revealed conditions which included seepage and ponding of effluent from the septic tanks of each of the six houses, standing water, and unpleasant odors. In fact, the seepage from the septic tanks was so extensive that it was found to be flowing from one property onto the property of adjoining landowners. Advice was sought from the FmHA state office as to whether further loans should be approved in the Crockett Timbers Subdivision. Upon evaluating the situation, the state FmHA office, in a letter dated April 16, 1979, conditioned the approval of loans for the remaining four units upon the builder’s compliance with the following conditions: (1) The installation of or redesigning of the drainage system to allow surface water to properly drain from the first six home sites; (2) the reworking of the existing septic systems for the first six homes by either installing a dual system or an alternate method recommended by the Tennessee Department of Public Health; (3) the draining of water collected under the six houses by use of drain pipes installed through the foundation wall; and (4) the modifications of the four new properties in the same manner as the existing six systems.

The letter concluded with a statement that “[ajfter these are closed out you are to discontinue any further housing activity in this subdivision.”

The conditions imposed by the state FmHA office were met by plaintiff after a revised design was approved by the State Environmental Sanitation Department and new permits were issued. The new design called for an expansion of the capacity of the septic systems, and additional landscaping. The loans on the remaining four lots were approved and the houses eventually sold. The additional expense and delays caused by the revised design are the source of plaintiff’s claim for damages from the government.

[100]*100 Discussion

Defendant maintains at the outset that this court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case pursuant to the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. United States
26 Cl. Ct. 805 (Court of Claims, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
3 Cl. Ct. 97, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deakins-v-united-states-cc-1983.