RESOLUTION 17-025 ATTACHMENT RE NOTICE OF MONEY DAMAGES OWED TO HAMC.PDF

DIA
Helping House America !Wang corrinarilits tactho
May 17, 2017
RE: Money Damages Owed to Your Housing Authority
Dear Executive Director:
As you may have heard, we achieved a successful outcome in a lawsuit challenging the operating
reserve offset that Congress and HUD imposed on your 2012 operating subsidies. In a decision
handed down on January 18, 2017, the United States Court of Federal Claims (Claims Court)
held that the operating reserve offset was a breach of the Annual Contributions Contract between
HUD and Public Housing Agencies.
The Claims Court found that the 2012 appropriation for operating subsidies should have been
prorated for all housing authorities. The Claims Court agreed with us that any HA that received
operating subsidies that were less than 81.04 percent of its eligibility amount was entitled to
money damages equal to the difference. In this lawsuit, 309 housing authority plaintiffs were
awarded a total of over $135 million.
You are among a large number of HAs who would have been entitled to money damages if you
had joined the lawsuit. The total amount of money damages for you and the other HAs that
did not participate in the lawsuit is over $230 million. All this money will be lost if a second
lawsuit is not filed before November 18, 2017, which is the end of the six-year statute of
limitations period for the filing of a breach of contract lawsuit against the United States. To
avoid this, we are advising you of your legal option to participate in a second lawsuit against
HUD. The estimated amount of money damages you are eligible to receive, based on the Claims
Court's January 18 decision, is $114108
As we did for the first lawsuit, PHADA and NAHRO will administer a second lawsuit in order
for HAs, like yours, to have the opportunity to obtain the money damages to which you are
entitled. As with the first lawsuit, the Washington, D.C. law finn of Coan and Lyons will
manage the litigation and provide necessary legal services. That law firm developed the strategy,
and represented the HAs that were the plaintiffs, in the first lawsuit that we won. PHADA and
NAHRO will not be parties to the second lawsuit. We will not benefit in any way from the result
of the second lawsuit, as we similarly will not benefit from the result of the first lawsuit.
PHADA and NAHRO's role in this second lawsuit is solely advisory and administrative.
Additionally we cannot guarantee you will receive money damages since there is a possibility
that HUD might appeal the Claims Court decision and win that appeal.

We do not know yet whether HUD will appeal the January 18 decision to the United States Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the court to which appeals from the Claims Court are made.
We will let you know as soon as we know. Meanwhile, time is short. If you want to file suit to
receive money damages, you should obtain board approval to participate in the second lawsuit
and identify the non-federal funds you can use to pay legal fees as soon as possible. Even if
HUD appeals the decision, you will still need to participate in a lawsuit filed before November
18, 2017, to receive the money damages to which you are entitled for HUD's breach of your
ACC.
The fee for small HAs (less than 250 units) is $1,000. The fee for HAs with 250 or more units is
$3,000. These amounts include a $400 filing fee the Claims Court is expected to charge each
plaintiff. These fees were determined, in part, by the costs incurred in the first lawsuit. Again,
the money used to pay for the legal fees must come front non-federal funds.
If you wish to participate in this lawsuit, please so indicate in a signed letter, showing the full
formal name of your agency, the name of a contact person with that person's entail address
and phone number, and include a check made out to "Operating Reserves Litigation" for the
requisite amount. Send the payment to: PHADA 511 Capitol Court NE Washington DC 20002.
The submission deadline is August 15, 2017.
If you have questions, please email them to ccoanRcoanlyons.com and ravkiarnesacomeastmet.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
NAHRO Acting CEO