Northwest Properties Development Corporation John Graham Associates v. Municipality of Anchorage

94 F.3d 652 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. NORTHWEST PROPERTIES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; John Graham Associates, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MUNICIPALITY OF ANCHORAGE, Defendant-Appellee. No. 95-35303. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted Aug. 8, 1996. * Decided Aug. 12, 1996. Before: GOODWIN, BRUNETTI and KOZINSKI, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 All "instrument[s] pertaining to the conveyance of real property" to the Municipality of Anchorage must be "signed by the mayor or his designee and attested by the clerk." AMC 25.20.030. Although the term "conveyance" is not defined in the Anchorage Municipal Code, its ordinary meaning includes a lease of real property. See Smalley v. Juneau Clinic Bldg. Corp., 493 P.2d 1296, 1299 (Alaska 1972). The lease agreement here was never signed by the mayor and is therefore neither effective nor binding. See AMC 25.10.020(B). 3 Plaintiff argues that interpreting the word "conveyance" to include leases…