Yakama Nation Housing Authority v. United States

102 Fed. Cl. 478, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 2317, 2011 WL 6062362
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedDecember 5, 2011
DocketNo. 08-839C
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 102 Fed. Cl. 478 (Yakama Nation Housing Authority 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
Yakama Nation Housing Authority v. United States, 102 Fed. Cl. 478, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 2317, 2011 WL 6062362 (uscfc 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SMITH, Senior Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss requesting that the Court dismiss Plaintiff Yakama Nation Housing Authority’s (‘YNHA”) complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and (6) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims.

In its complaint, YNHA alleges that it received annual housing grants, referred to as Indian Housing Block Grants (“IHBGs”), from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in each fiscal year from 1998 to 2010 through the grant allocation formula in the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (“NAHASDA”), 25 U.S.C. § 4101 et seq. YNHA contends that HUD improperly reduced YNHA’s annual grants in each of those years and seeks to account for and recover those grant funds which YNHA contends the Government both unlawfully withheld as well as attempted to recapture.

After full briefing, oi’al argument and careful consideration the Court hereby GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Defen[481]*481dant’s Motion to Dismiss for the reasons set forth below.

BACKGROUND

Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act

In order “to consolidate the low income housing assistance and to simplify the distribution of funds” Fort Peck Housing Auth. v. HUD, 367 Fed.Appx. 884, 885 (10th Cir. 2010), cert. denied — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 347, 178 L.Ed.2d 148 (2010) (“Fort Peck II”), Congress enacted the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (“NAHASDA”). Pub.L. 104-330, § 107, Stat. 4016 (1996). Taking effect after September 30, 1997, this law terminated previous Indian housing assistance under the 1937 Housing Act. 42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq. (1994). Unlike its predecessor, NAHASDA allocated annual block grants of funds to Indian tribes, determined by a distribution formula. Fort Peck II, 367 Fed.Appx. at 885 (citing 25 U.S.C. §§ 4151, 4152, 4116). If all the funds were not disbursed in the year, the appropriated funds were to be included into the next year’s funding for distribution.

Congress established the formula by which the appropriated funds would be distributed. 25 U.S.C. § 4152(a). The formula is based upon factors reflecting need including: (1) The number of low-income housing dwelling units owned ...; (2) The extent of poverty and economic distress and the number of Indian families within Indian areas of the tribe; and (3) Other objectively measurable conditions as the Secretary and the Indian tribes may specify. Fort Peck II, 367 Fed. Appx. at 885-86 (citing 25 U.S.C. 4152(b)). Thereafter, a committee composed of 48 representatives of Indian tribes and 10 HUD representatives developed the regulations implementing NAHASDA.1 The allocation formula agreed upon has two components: (1) Formula Current Assisted Stock (“FCAS”) and (2) need. Fort Peck II, 367 Fed.Appx. at 886 (citing 24 C.F.R. § 1000.310).

The FCAS component is based upon a tribe’s inventory of rental units and lease-to-own units (referred to as “Mutual Help” and “Turnkey III” units) as of the date the Act became effective. The need component of the allocation formula is based upon seven criteria, including information derived from census data, such as the number of households in a tribe’s population with income below a median income level, and the number of households living without kitchens and plumbing. Fort Peck II, 367 Fed.Appx. at 886. Each year, the funds appropriated are allocated by first calculating the FCAS component and then dividing the remaining funds under the need component; thus, a greater number of FCAS units reduce the amount available for the need component.

The FCAS component of the formula is the main focus of the present Complaint and the interpretation of the regulation that identifies when the lease-to-own units are no longer to be counted. See 24 C.F.R. § 1000.316. Whether a lease-to-own unit will no longer be counted for purposes of the allocation formula is significant because, as stated above, the FCAS component is calculated first. Therefore, if the lease-to-own unit is removed from the FCAS count, the tribe will receive a smaller FCAS-based portion of its housing grant from HUD and the overall housing grant it receives (including both the FCAS and “need” components) may, consequently, also be smaller. As the lease-to-own units are conveyed to Indian families as intended by the Mutual Help and Turnkey III programs, the units are no longer counted in FCAS. Thus, the funding previously used for funding FCAS becomes available for distribution under the need component. 24 C.F.R. § 1000.324.

The 2008 Amendment of NAHASDA

On October 14, 2008, Congress amended NAHASDA by enacting the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2008, Pub.L. No. 110-411, 122 Stat. 4319 (the “Reauthorization Act”). The amendment essentially adopted the provisions in HUD’s regulation at 24 [482]*482C.F.R. § 1000.318 providing for units to become ineligible for inclusion in FCAS when the tribes no longer own, or should no longer own, the units.

In addition, the Reauthorization Act specified that in order to file a successful claim regarding the formula for current assisted stock calculation or count involving an Indian housing block allocation for any fiscal year through fiscal year' 2008, the action relating to such had to be filed no later than 45 days after the date of the Reauthorization Act (October 14, 2008). Reauthorization Act, § 301(2); 25 U.S.C. § 4152(b)(1)(E). Thus, this provision required that any Indian tribe wishing to pursue a claim based upon the previous version of the statute and 24 C.F.R. § 1000.318 needed to file suit by November 28, 2008. Plaintiff filed this action before that deadline.

The OIG Audit and Recommendation

In 2001, HUD’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) performed a nationwide audit of the NAHASDA program. The OIG conducted site visits and the audit report concluded that IHBG funds had not been properly allocated in previous years because they were based on housing units that do not qualify as FCAS. HUD thereafter began seeking recovery of amounts it had paid for ineligible units.

Prior Litigation of YNHA

In 2005, HUD relied upon the 1998 regulation, 24 C.F.R. § 1000.318

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102 Fed. Cl. 478, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 2317, 2011 WL 6062362, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yakama-nation-housing-authority-v-united-states-uscfc-2011.