Fort Peck Housing Authority v. United States Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

Update in Nambé Pueblo Housing Authority v. HUD

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the updated materials in Nambé Pueblo Housing Authority v. Department of Housing and Urban Development (D. Colo.):

56 Plaintiff Statement of Relief Requested

57 HUD Response

63 Plaintiff Reply

70 DCT Order

Here is an excerpt from the order:

the defendants shall restore to Plaintiff Nambe Pueblo Housing Entity all Indian Housing Block Grant funds that it has recaptured for twenty-three units located in housing projects known as NM99B040011 (Project 11) and Project NM99B040013 (Project 13)and one unit located in the housing project known as NM99B040017 (Project 17); the Defendants shall refrain from threatening recapture of funding associated with those units and shall not act upon any threatened recapture; that on or before April 15, 2014, Plaintiff Nambe Pueblo Housing Entity shall submit a proposed form of judgment, specifying the amounts to be paid to it and the asserted sources of the payment; that if Plaintiff Nambe Pueblo Housing Entity claims entitlement to payment for underfunding because HUD excluded those units from its FCAS in a particular year, the proposed form of judgment should include a separate itemization for those amounts, which may be submitted by May 15, 2014. An Appendix may be provided to explain the calculation of the amount owed and the record support for the claim. The Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees and costs will be addressed after entry of judgment, by Judge Richard P. Matsch on 3/7/2014.

Prior post in this case is here.

Materials in Tribal Challenges to HUD Funding Reductions and Grant Money Recapture Actions

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Fort Peck Housing Authority v. Department of Housing and Urban Development (D. Colo.):

DCT Order in Fort Peck v HUD

Fort Peck Opening Brief

HUD Answer Brief

Fort Peck Reply

And the materials in Nambé Pueblo Housing Authority v. Department of Housing and Urban Development (D. Colo.):

DCT Order in Nambe Pueblo Case

Nambe Pueblo Opening Brief

HUD Response Brief

Nambe Reply

Earlier materials in Fort Peck Housing Authority v. HUD are here.

Fort Peck v. HUD Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here: Fort Peck Cert Petition.

Questions presented:

Under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA), Congress directed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a formula to allocate annual block grants to Indian Tribes for affordable housing activities. Congress directed that the formula be based on factors which reflect housing need, including three explicit factors. The first factor is the number of dwelling units owned or operated by the Tribes under the 1937 Housing Act at the time the regulations became effective. 25 U.S.C. § 4152 (b) (1). The Secretary promulgated a regulation, 24 C.F.R. § 1000.318, that removes some of these dwelling units from the formula. After the regulation was invalidated by the district court as violative of the statute, Congress amended the statute to incorporate, with significant exceptions, part of the regulation into the statute. The questions presented are:

(1) When Congress mandates a definitive number of units to be considered as a factor in an annual funding formula, may the Secretary lawfully impose a regulation that fails to include all of the units in the formula?

(2) The Tenth Circuit declined to address the effect of the 2008 amendment on the regulation’s validity. Does the amendment of the statute following the district court’s decision support the district court’s ruling that the regulation was invalid prior to the amendment?

(3) Does the Tenth Circuit’s decision that the Secretary may exclude dwelling units from the formula conflict with the decisions of other circuits holding that statutory factors which Congress mandates for consideration by an Agency must be considered in full?

Lower court materials here.