Rogers v. United States Department of Housing & Urban Development

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

Plaintiffs, six former residents of San Francisco’s Western Addition, brought this action against the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA), on behalf of themselves and all those similarly situated. The complaint alleges that the defendants have violated various statutory, contractual, and equitable obligations owed to the plaintiffs and the plaintiff class in connection with the “Western Addition Area 2 Urban Renewal Project” (A-2 project). Specifically, the complaint alleges that the SFRA agreed to construct and HUD agreed to fund, within the A-2 project area, HUD subsidized and low-rent public housing for 100% of the A-2 families and 48% of the A-2 individuals displaced by the A-2 urban renewal project. These promises were allegedly exchanged between the defendants as well as made directly to the plaintiffs and other members of their class, as a precondition to federal assistance for the project. These promises have allegedly been breached, and plaintiffs now seek to enforce them as both promisees and as third party beneficiaries. The complaint also alleges that the “site…