Affordable Housing Development Corp. v. City of Fresno

Affordable Housing Development Corporation and its affiliate Ashwood Construction Co. (collectively AHDC) appeal the judgment of the district court, following a jury trial, in favor of defendants City of Fresno (the City) and individual council members and citizens. Holding that the district court properly reconciled the special verdicts of the jury, we affirm the judgment. Holding that there should be further consideration of the citizens’ claims for attorney fees, we remand that issue to the district court.

FACTS

In October' 1996, AHDC agreed with McCaffrey Development to buy property in the northeast corner of the City. AHDC planned to build low-rent family housing in an apartment complex of 324 units to be known as Wellington Place. Construction financing was secured through a commitment from the Federal National Mortgage Association that included the Wellington Place -project along with three other AHDC enterprises. AHDC entered into a $12.7 million construction contract with its affiliate, Ashwood Construction. AHDC expected permanent financing to be in the form of a federally-sponsored $30 million bond issue. “Equity” was found in a reservation of ten years of federal tax…