McClean v. Del. Cnty. Hous. Auth.
McClean v. Del. Cnty. Hous. Auth.
Opinion of the Court
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Larry I. McClean initiated a pro se civil rights action under
II. BACKGROUND
A. The Housing Act
Because the present motion concerns purported violations of the Housing Act and HUD regulations, the Court briefly describes the statute and associated regulatory scheme.
The Housing Act authorizes HUD to designate federal funds to state housing agencies to provide safe and affordable housing to low-income citizens.
*308The voucher program requires the tenant to pay a portion of the rent, which is determined by the state housing agency's calculation of the tenant's adjusted income.
B. Factual and Procedural History
Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are undisputed. In June 2007, Plaintiff received a housing voucher through the Philadelphia Housing Authority ("PHA"). Plaintiff then moved to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he participated in the voucher program and had his rent subsidized by DCHA from November 2007 until October 2013. During this six-year period, Plaintiff encountered problems with his rental and utility payments.
1. Utility Payments
First, Plaintiff experienced problems with his utility payments. As noted, the state housing agency determines a reasonable utility allowance for each household based on the number of qualified tenants in the dwelling.
2. Rental Payments
Second, Plaintiff asserted issues with his rental payments. Although Plaintiff initially was not required to pay rent, his rent increased to $279 per month for a period of time after DCHA discovered that Plaintiff was receiving unemployment compensation.
In 2009, Plaintiff started working in the Moving to Work ("MTW") apprenticeship program, where his earnings as an apprentice were excluded from his income for purposes of calculating his subsidized rent payments.
Upon learning of Plaintiff's unemployment compensation, DCHA notified Plaintiff that his rent would be increasing to $279 per month, effective May 1, 2010.
In February 2011, DCHA and Plaintiff attended an informal appeals hearing to determine his rental obligation.
A few months later, DCHA notified Plaintiff that he would be required to repay the sum of $1,395.00 to DCHA, which represented five months of rent (from January to May 2011) that DCHA contended it had overpaid on his behalf. Plaintiff failed to reimburse DCHA or sign a reimbursement agreement. Instead, he continued to complain that he should not be required to pay this amount.
In September 2011, Plaintiff attended an annual meeting with DCHA to re-examine *310his financial obligations.
For the next two years (from October 2011 until October 2013), Plaintiff's rent was "re-calculated based upon zero income,"
On October 1, 2015, Plaintiff filed a complaint against DCHA and PHA,
III. Standard of Review
Upon motion of a party, summary judgment is appropriate if the "materials in the record" show "that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."
*311A dispute about a material fact is "genuine" if the evidence presented "is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party."
In evaluating a summary judgment motion, a court "must view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party," and make every reasonable inference in that party's favor.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Statute of Limitations
DCHA contends that Plaintiff's claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. It is well established that the statute of limitations for a Section 1983 claim arising in Pennsylvania is two years.
1. Plaintiff's Utility Reimbursement Claim Is Time-Barred
DCHA argues that Plaintiff's utility reimbursement claim was filed too late. The record demonstrates that as early as 2008, DCHA withheld a $50 monthly utility reimbursement from Plaintiff, despite the fact that he qualified for a maximum utility allowance of $52 per month based on the size of his household. Because Plaintiff received only $2 per month from DCHA as a *312reimbursement, Plaintiff was forced to pay the remainder of the monthly utility bill himself. Plaintiff thus knew of his injuries-i.e. , his overpayment of monthly utility bills and alleged unlawful withholding of the maximum utility reimbursement-in 2008. Moreover, the evidence shows that Plaintiff was aware of his injuries in June 2008 when he worked with counsel to recoup this full reimbursement from DCHA. The counseled attempt was unsuccessful, and Plaintiff continued to "overpay" for his monthly utility bill because DCHA withheld $50 per month in his utility allowance that Plaintiff believed he should have received.
Thus, a reasonable person in Plaintiff's position should have known of the allegedly unlawful withholding in 2008, when Plaintiff was forced to pay the remainder of each monthly utility bill. Therefore, Plaintiff's Section 1983 claim based on his utility bill began to accrue by June 2008 at the latest. As a result, any utility-based claim raised after June 2010 is barred by the two-year statute of limitations. Furthermore, Plaintiff had not received any utility reimbursement in the two years immediately preceding the filing of his complaint on October 1, 2015, since his housing voucher had been terminated in 2013 and he was no longer living in Section 8 housing. Thus, the Court concludes that this claim is time-barred.
2. Plaintiff's Rental Payment Claims Are Not Time-Barred
DCHA also argues that Plaintiff's claims based on problems with his rental payments are time-barred. Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiff as the non-moving party, however, Plaintiff's Section 1983 claims regarding his rent accrued on November 1, 2013, when he received notice that his housing voucher was terminated. At that time Plaintiff knew, and a reasonable person would have known, that he suffered injuries. Although DCHA contends that Plaintiff had reason to know of his injuries in 2010 when his rent payments were recalculated, Plaintiff did not actually pay the increased rental obligations, and thus did not suffer any injury until the housing voucher was terminated. Moreover, a reasonable person in Plaintiff's position may not have known that he was injured because DCHA continued to pay his portion of the rent during the period he disputed the back-due payment.
*313B. Summary Judgment Will Not Be Granted on Plaintiff's Rental Payment Claims
DCHA argues that summary judgment should be granted as a matter of law as to Plaintiff's remaining Section 1983 claims based on his rental payments. Plaintiff's remaining rent claims allege that DCHA: (a) wrongfully included income that should have been excluded to calculate the amount of his rent; (b) wrongfully accused Plaintiff of owing DCHA $1,395 in back rent; and (c) wrongfully terminated Plaintiff's housing voucher. These three claims are based on Plaintiff's theory that his unemployment compensation benefits should not be included as income when they are awarded in place of excluded apprenticeship earnings, particularly when he continued to be enrolled and participate in the MTW apprenticeship program.
As discussed, the Housing Act's voucher program requires the tenant to pay a portion of his rent, which is determined by the state housing agency's calculation of the tenant's adjusted income.
Incremental earnings and benefits resulting to any family member from participation in qualifying State or local employment training programs (including training programs not affiliated with a local government) and training of a family member as resident management staff. Amounts excluded by this provision must be received under employment training programs with clearly defined goals and objectives, and are excluded only for the period during which the family member participates in the employment training program[.]54
However, "annual income" does include: "[p]ayments in lieu of earnings, such as unemployment and disability compensation, worker's compensation and severance pay (except as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of this section)."
Plaintiff asserts that he was continuously "enrolled and participating" in the MTW program after his termination from the Union;
V. C ONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, DCHA's motion for summary judgment will be *314granted in part and denied in part. An appropriate order follows.
42 U.S.C. § 1437f(a), (o ). The voucher program helps low-income families secure safe housing by providing assistance payments in accordance with the program regulations. 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(a).
42 U.S.C. § 1437f ;
42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o )(1) ;
42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o )(2)(D).
42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o )(2)(A)(i).
42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o )(2)(D).
Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶¶ 10, 34-35, 57-58. DCHA argues that Plaintiff would have received the larger reimbursement if he had applied for and received a hardship exemption.
Second Am. Compl. at 3.
Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶ 13.
Pl.'s Supplemental Statement of Facts at ¶ 9.
Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. at 3.
Def.'s Statement of Facts at ¶¶ 17-18.
Pl.'s Supplemental Statement of Facts at ¶¶ 5-6, 13-14.
Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. O.
Def.'s Statement of Undisputed Facts at ¶ 31.
"Port" or "Portability" refers to an individual or family's ability to move from one public housing authority jurisdiction to another housing authority jurisdiction.
Pl.'s Supplemental Statement of Facts at ¶ 35.
Plaintiff filed his complaint along with an application to proceed in forma pauperis on October 1, 2015. The Complaint was docketed on October 7, 2015, after his application to proceed in forma pauperis was granted. See Urrutia v. Harrisburg Cty. Police Dep't ,
Second Am. Compl. at 3.
As the Court previously held, Plaintiff may sue under Section 1983 to enforce sections of the Housing Act and associated HUD regulations. McClean v. Delaware Cty. Housing Auth. ,
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c)(1)(A).
Miller v. Ind. Hosp. ,
See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. ,
Hugh v. Butler Cty. Family YMCA ,
Boyle v. Cty. of Allegheny ,
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett ,
Anderson , 477 U.S. at 249-50,
Walden v. Saint Gobain Corp. ,
Celotex , 477 U.S. at 322,
Bynum v. Trustees of Univ. of Pa. ,
Bynum ,
Kach ,
Plaintiff does not contend that the two-year statute of limitations should be tolled with respect to his utility reimbursement claim for the final month of October 2013 when his tenancy was last secured in part by the Section 8 housing voucher, and concedes that he no longer is "seeking relief under Section 1983 related to these issues." Pl.'s Supplemental Mem. at 14. Instead, his Section 1983 claims are "entirely directed" at the termination of his Section 8 housing benefits.
See Bynum ,
See Swift v. McKeesport Housing Auth. , No. 08-275,
42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o )(1) ;
Pl.'s Supplemental Statement of Facts at ¶ 34.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Larry I. MCCLEAN v. DELAWARE COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY
- Status
- Published