Court Opinion

ID: 9464609
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 23:38:18.604745+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:43.836931
License: Public Domain

ROSS, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
My reading of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Federal Housing Administration v. Burr, 309 U.S. 242, 60 S.Ct. 488, 84 L.Ed. 724 (1940), may be considerably narrower than that of the majority. In my opinion, Burr authorizes suits under 12 U.S.C. § 1702 only when the claim clearly arises from acts performed by the Secretary in carrying out the provisions of the National Housing Act. When the alleged acts of the Secretary are so authorized, Burr allows the Secretary to “be sued” by any manner of judicial process available against a private enterprise under like circumstances. Id., 309 U.S. at 245, 60 S.Ct. 488. However, the Supreme Court cautioned that
[t]o allow respondent to reach the claim through a writ of garnishment is therefore not to enlarge [the Secretary’s] liability nor to add one iota to the scope of § 1. For the end result is simply to allow suit for the collection of a claim on which Congress expressly made [the Secretary] suable.
Id., 309 U.S. at 248-49, 60 S.Ct. at 492.
While I am constrained to agree that, under the pleadings in this case, the alleged acts of the Secretary may have been within her authority under the National Housing Act, I would make it clear that not every act of the Secretary will give rise to liability simply because it was performed in her capacity as such. Those claims against the Secretary alleging acts which may be unrelated to the purposes of the National Hous*183ing Act are not within the waiver of immunity contained in § 1702. See, e. g., City of Sacramento v. Secretary of HUD, 363 F.Supp. 736 (E.D.Cal.1972).
While I agree that the majority has reached the correct legal decision, as a practical matter I note that plaintiff was paid 99% of its contract price; that it accepted a $250,000 note (the other 1%) at closing in order that the balance of the loan proceeds could be made available by the banks, to be paid, at least in part, to the plaintiff; and that it is difficult to understand, even assuming the allegations of the complaint are true, how the United States has either profited by the transaction or has harmed the plaintiff.