Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington dismissed a case filed against the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (Commission) from Alden Torch Financial via AMTAX Holdings. In 2019, the Commission issued a report on Year-15, nonprofit transfer disputes in the LIHTC program issued and implemented subsequent policy changes aimed at curtailing the trends outlined in the report.
Why it matters: The dismissal sets a precedent for housing credit allocating agencies considering implementing similar policies. Current Commission policy, on which this lawsuit was based, “reserves the Commission’s right to disallow a LIHTC transfer based on, among other considerations, (1) a finding that the ‘Transferee has been part of a LIHTC ownership/project that subsequently was found by a court or administrative body to be in violation of a LIHTC statutory or regulatory requirement or covenant,’ or (2) a ‘Judicial or administrative finding against the Transferee of causing actionable harm to a LIHTC project or partner; committing fraud; or violating a LIHTC requirement or covenant.’ ”
