Opinion ID: 2321014
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DCHA's Intervention was Timely and Invited by this Court in Abidoye I.

Text: Ms. Anderson argues that DCHA has not properly preserved or pursued its rights under the HAP contract, and therefore, DCHA should not be able to benefit from her litigation by reaping the rewards of her judgment against the landlord. We disagree with this contention and conclude that DCHA did preserve and pursue its rights. Contrary to Ms. Anderson's assertion, DCHA did not have actual notice of the pending landlord and tenant action from its inception when it was filed in 2001. We conclude that DCHA's intervention was timely. A decision to grant or deny a motion to intervene is within the discretion of the trial judge. See Emmco Ins. Co. v. White Motor Corp., 429 A.2d 1385 (D.C. 1981). The trial court must consider: (1) whether the person seeking to intervene `has an interest in the transaction which is the subject matter of the suit'; (2) whether `the disposition of the suit may as a practical matter impair his [or her] ability to protect that interest'; and (3) whether `his [or her] interest is adequately represented by existing parties.' McPherson v. D.C. Hous. Auth., 833 A.2d 991, 994 (D.C.2003) ( citing Calvin-Humphrey v. District of Columbia, 340 A.2d 795, 798 (D.C.1975)). However, with respect to timeliness, Super. Ct. Civ. R. 24(b) requires that an application for intervention be timely filed, and if it is untimely, intervention must be denied. See Emmco Ins. Co., supra, 429 A.2d at 1386-387; see also NAACP v. New York, 413 U.S. 345, 93 S.Ct. 2591, 37 L.Ed.2d 648 (1973). In Emmco Ins. Co., we stated that timeliness is to be determined from all the circumstances and that the court should take into consideration the following factors: (1) the length of the intervenor's delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) the stage to which the litigation had progressed when intervention was sought; (4) the prejudice that the original parties may suffer if the application is granted; and (5) the prejudice that the intervenor may suffer if its application is denied. 429 A.2d at 1387. Under Emmco Ins. Co., the length of delay is to be measured from the time that the applicant actually knew or reasonably should have known of its interest in the main action. DCHA contends that its interest in the lawsuit did not arise until after Ms. Anderson was granted an abatement and claimed entitlement to 100% of the abatement, including the portion of the rental payments made by DCHA. We agree. Contrary to appellant's assertions, DCHA did not initially have an interest, and certainly did not know of their interest, in this matter at the time the landlord filed his suit for possession of the unit. The nature of the original complaint filed by the landlord against appellant was for a suit for possession of the premises and for failure to pay rent. Such a suit in the Landlord and Tenant Branch of the Superior Court did not directly involve DCHA and we can discern no basis to conclude that DCHA should have been put on notice that the suit might necessitate their intervention. It would be unreasonable for us to conclude that DCHA should have known that the litigation might ultimately be certified to a regular civil calendar, where a trial judge would ultimately determine that the tenant was entitled to an abatement, and that the amount of the abatement would greatly exceed the amount of rent paid by the tenant, and that the tenant would claim entitlement to over $5,000 of the funds paid by DCHA. We simply cannot conclude from this record that DCHA reasonably should have known of its interest in the case. [25] Similarly, appellant's counterclaim for housing code violations did not directly involve DCHA. Further, absent intervention, DCHA's interests would not have been represented in the suit, and DCHA would have been prejudiced by not being in a position to assert a claim that it was entitled to receive the portion of the abatement representing rent DCHA paid on Ms. Anderson's behalf. Lastly, in Abidoye I, we remanded the case back to the trial court with instructions that a determination be made as to whether DCHA sought repayment, and with instructions to the trial court to invite DCHA to intervene. Abidoye I, supra, 824 A.2d at 44. Thus, the trial judge's grant of DCHA's Motion to Intervene was not an abuse of its discretion.