Grass Valley Terrace v. United States

46 Fed. Cl. 629, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 98, 2000 WL 688280
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedApril 12, 2000
DocketNo. 98-726 C
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 46 Fed. Cl. 629 (Grass Valley Terrace v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grass Valley Terrace v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 629, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 98, 2000 WL 688280 (uscfc 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

DAMICH, Judge.

I. Introduction

In this case, fourteen Plaintiffs, who entered into loan agreements with the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), United States Department of Agriculture, to provide low-income rural housing, filed suit against the government alleging the government breached its contracts by enacting subsequent legislation that made it substantially more difficult for Plaintiffs to exercise their option to prepay their loans at any time. The Defendant filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that six of the Plaintiffs’ claims are barred for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment as to their breach of contract claims (Count I). Plaintiffs claim as damages the value of the increased rents that Plaintiffs believe .they could have charged after prepayment, diminution in property value, and costs involved in continuing to comply with the FmHA housing program.

II. Facts

Fourteen Plaintiffs entered into loans with the FmHA to provide rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families in rural areas. These loans were made pursuant to §§ 515 and 521 of the Housing Act of 1949 (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1485, 1490(a)). All the Plaintiffs entered into their contracts either before December 21, 1979 (pre-1979 contracts); or on or after December 21, 1979, but before December 15, 1989 (post-1979 contracts). The agreement to provide low-income housing consisted of a promissory note, a loan agreement, and a real estate mortgage.

In exchange for low-interest rates on their loans, Plaintiffs in the contracts agreed to numerous restrictions (“the investment return restrictions”) on the use of their properties while their loans remained outstanding, including: (1) to accept only eligible low- or' moderate-income persons as tenants; (2) to charge rents no higher than those permitted [631]*631by FmHA; (3) to restrict investment returns to a rate of 8% on their capital contributions; and (4) to maintain certain cash reserves.

FmHA included the following express provisions in the promissory notes executed by the borrowers in the Section 515 program: (1) “Prepayments of scheduled installments, or any portion thereof, may be made at any time at the option of Borrower” and (2) “This Note shall be subject to the present regulations of the Farmers Home Administration and to its future regulations not inconsistent with the express provisions hereof’ or “This Note shall be subject to the present regulations of the Farmers Home Administration and to its future regulations and provisions hereof.” For the pre-1979 Plaintiffs, the loan agreements, by their terms, including the investment return restrictions, continue only so long as the indebtedness under the promissory notes remains unsatisfied.

However, the contracts of Plaintiffs entering into loans with the FmHA on or after December 21, 1979 differed. Post-1979 Plaintiffs were required by the terms of the loan documents to maintain the low-income nature of the housing for a period of 15 or 20 years following the date of the loan.

III. The Legislation

A. Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (ELIHPA)

On February 5, 1988, Congress amended the Housing Act by passing the Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (ELIHPA). Pub.L. No. 100-242, 101 Stat. 1877 (1988), codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. § 1472(c) (“the 1988 legislation”). This legislation did not terminate the prepayment right of pre-1979 owners,1 rather it placed a number of restrictions on the exercise of the prepayment option. For example, it required pre-1979 owners who made an offer to prepay, to negotiate an agreement with FmHA to extend the low-income use of their properties for a period of 20 years from the date of the agreement. 42 U.S.C. § 1472(e)(4)(A). In order to encourage owners to extend the low-income use of their properties, various incentives were offered sueh as increases in the rate of return on investment, reductions on the interest rate on the mortgage loan, additional rental assistance and an equity loan. 42 U.S.C. § 1472(c)(4)(B). If borrowers chose not to extend the low-income use of their properties, borrowers were required to sell the housing to a qualified non-profit organization or public agency at a fair market value as determined by two independent appraisers. 42 U.S.C. § 1472(c)(5)(A).

In order to avoid placing its property for sale, the borrower was required to extend the low-income use of its property for a period of time determined by the Secretary but not less than 20 years from the date of the loan origination. 42 U.S.C. § 1472(c)(5)(G). However, owners were still required to offer to sell the property to qualified non-profits at the end of that period. Id. On the other hand, if the Secretary determined that housing opportunities for minorities would not be materially affected as a result of the prepayment and that either (a) tenants would not be displaced; or (b) that there is an adequate supply of affordable rental housing within the market area of the housing, then the prepayment restriction did not apply. Id.

B. Housing and Community Development Act of 1992

On October 28,1992, Congress enacted the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992. Pub.L. No. 102-550 § 712, 106 Stat. 3681, 3841 (1992) (codified in relevant part at 42 U.S.C. § 1472(c)). This legislation amended the 1988 legislation by extending the application of the prepayment provisions to FmHA loans made on or after December 21, 1979, but prior to the date of enactment of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989. 42 U.S.C. § 1472(c)(4)(B)(vi). Furthermore, the legislation permitted the Secretary to provide incentives to extend the low income use by allowing owners to receive rent in excess of the amount normally permitted by loan recipients. Id.

[632]*632IV. Procedural History

Plaintiffs commenced this action on September 16, 1998. In Count I, Plaintiffs allege that by enacting the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, the government anticipatorily repudiated its contract with each of the Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs allege that the anticipatory repudiation constitutes a breach of contract as of the date that each Plaintiff would terminate its contract but for the government’s repudiation. In Count II, Plaintiffs claim that Defendant’s conduct constitutes a taking of Plaintiffs’ properties for public use and requires payment to Plaintiffs of just compensation under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
46 Fed. Cl. 629, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 98, 2000 WL 688280, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grass-valley-terrace-v-united-states-uscfc-2000.