[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 199 (Thursday, October 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62088-62089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26165]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5823-D-01]


Redelegation of Authority Within the Office of General Counsel

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel, HUD.

[[Page 62089]]


ACTION: Notice of redelegation of authority.

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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the General Counsel authorizes Office of 
General Counsel (OGC) Regional Counsel to redelegate to staff within 
their operating jurisdictions the authority to accept service of 
summonses, subpoenas and other judicial process for the foreclosure of 
tax and other liens on HUD-owned single family properties that HUD 
acquires through the payment of mortgage insurance claims.

DATES: Effective Date: October 7, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Shumway, Assistant General 
Counsel, Administrative Law Division, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 
9262, telephone number 202-402-5190. (This is not a toll-free number). 
Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may access this number 
through TTY by calling 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, HUD 
is publishing an interpretive rule that discusses HUD's longstanding 
interpretation of the phrase ``court of competent jurisdiction'' in the 
``sue and be sued'' clause contained in section 1, Title I of the 
National Housing Act (NHA) (12 U.S.C. 1702). More specifically, this 
provision authorizes the Secretary to sue and be sued in any court of 
competent jurisdiction. HUD's interpretive rule clarifies the meaning 
of a court of competent jurisdiction, and is based on the Quiet Title 
Act, (Pub. L. 92-562, 86 Stat. 1176) (28 U.S.C. 2409a and 28 U.S.C. 
1346). The purpose of HUD's interpretive rule is to assist the Federal 
Housing Administration (FHA) efficiently manage its Real Estate Owned 
(REO) inventory and ensure prompt payment for taxes and other fees and 
assessments. HUD's interpretive rule concludes that when an action is 
brought to foreclose a lien on a property in which the government owns, 
the Federal District Court where the property is situated (or the 
Federal District Court for the District of Columbia) is the court of 
competent jurisdiction pursuant to the Quiet Title Act and HUD's 
interpretation of section 1, Title I of the National Housing Act. HUD's 
interpretive rule does not apply to situations where HUD does not hold 
title to the single family property, but holds only a mortgage or other 
lien interest. In those situations, lienholders would follow the 
procedures contained at 28 U.S.C. 2410.
    On July 18, 2011 at 76 FR 42463, HUD published a Consolidated 
Redelegation of Authority to the Office of General Counsel. Section 
B.1. of the redelegation delegates to the Associate General Counsel for 
Litigation in Headquarters and to the ten Regional Counsel the 
authority to accept service of all summonses, subpoenas, and other 
judicial, administrative, or legislative processes directed to the 
Secretary or an employee of HUD Headquarters in an official capacity. 
This section also authorized the Associate General Counsel for 
Litigation to redelegate this authority within the Office of Litigation 
and the Regional Counsel to redelegate this authority to the Associate 
Regional Counsel for Housing Finance and Programs in their 
jurisdictions. The July 18, 2011, Redelegation, however, prohibited 
this authority from being further redelegated.
    To effectuate this interpretive rule, however, the General Counsel 
has determined to revise Section B.1. of the Consolidated Redelegation 
of Authority to the Office of General Counsel. Specifically, the 
General Counsel has determined that authority to accept service of 
summonses, subpoenas, and other judicial, administrative, or 
legislative processes should be expanded to ensure a timely response to 
litigation to enforce liens on REO properties to protect and secure 
HUD's interest in the property. To this end, this Redelegation of 
Authority authorizes Regional Counsel to redelegate authority to accept 
service of all summonses, subpoenas, and other judicial, 
administrative, or legislative processes directed to the Secretary in 
an official capacity to staff within their operating jurisdictions.
    As a result, today's Redelegation of Authority revises Section B.1. 
of the July 18, 2011, Consolidated Redelegation of Authority to the 
Office of General Counsel, to read as follows:
    1. To the Associate General Counsel for Litigation and to Regional 
Counsel, the authority to accept, on behalf of the Secretary, service 
of all summonses, subpoenas, and other judicial, administrative, or 
legislative processes directed to HUD or the Secretary or to a HUD 
employee in an official capacity. The Associate General Counsel for 
Litigation may redelegate this authority within the Office of 
Litigation and the Regional Counsel may redelegate this authority 
within their operating jurisdictions.
    With the exception of the revisions to Section B.1., this 
redelegation of authority does not revoke or supersede any previous 
redelegations of authority included in the July 18, 2011, Consolidated 
Redelegation of Authority to the Office of General Counsel.

    Authority:  Section 7(d) Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)).

    Dated: October 7, 2015.
Helen R. Kanovsky,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-26165 Filed 10-14-15; 8:45 am]
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