Lummi Nation Housing Authority

Federal Court Rules against Intertribal NAHASDA Claims

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the updated materials in Lummi Tribe v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

44 Second Amended Complaint

45 US Motion to Dismiss

48 Lummi Response

50 US Reply

57 DCT Order Denying Motion to Dismiss

76 Lummi Motion for Partial Summary J

83 US Cross-Motion

88 Lummi Reply

95 DCT Order Granting US Motion

An excerpt:

This case arises under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996 (“NAHASDA” or “the statute”), as amended, 25 U.S.C. §§ 4101–4212 (2006). Plaintiffs sue here to recover grant funds initially paid to them under the statute but later recaptured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD” or “the agency”) when HUD determined that the allocation formula on which the grants had been based had been misapplied. This action is currently before the court on the parties cross-motions for partial summary judgment. By direction of the court, the parties have fully briefed only those arguments addressing the issue of whether 25 U.S.C. § 4152(b)(1), as originally enacted, prohibited HUD from excluding the housing units referenced in the statute from the allocation formula, rendering 24 C.F.R. § 1000.318’s removal of such units contrary to the statute and therefore invalid.

The court heard oral argument on July 30, 2013. For the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment as it relates to the alleged invalidity of 24 C.F.R. § 1000.318 is denied and defendant’s cross-motion is granted.

Prior post on this matter here.

Intertribal NAHASDA Claims Proceed in Court of Federal Claims

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the materials in Lummi Tribe v. United States (Fed. Cl.):

DCT Order Denying Motion to Dismiss (mostly)

Government Motion to Dismiss

Lummi et al Response

Government Reply

An excerpt describing the claims:

This action is one of a dozen or more law suits currently pending before both this court and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado brought by various Indian tribes and tribal housing authorities to challenge actions by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in calculating and seeking the repayment of grant funds paid to the tribes pursuant to the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (“NAHASDA”), as amended, 25 U.S.C. §§ 4101-4212 (2006). In particular, plaintiffs in this case contend that HUD improperly determined that certain of plaintiffs’ housing units could not be included in their grant calculations, thereby depriving plaintiffs of funding to which they allegedly were entitled both under the payment mandates of NAHASDA and under their annual funding agreements.