Judge Rules Against Affordable Housing Investor In LIHTC Dispute With Big Ramifications

A group of downtown Orlando bar owners is suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleging that it was unconstitutional for him to close bars but let restaurants that contain bars remain open.The bars filing suit in Orange County include Irish Shannon's Pub, Chillers, Cahoots & Latitudes, Ember, Calendestion, North, Aero, The…

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The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has left Celtic Realty Advisors CEO John Ridgway in a position he could never have imagined: suing the federal government.

When the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act was signed into law in March, it introduced a 120-day eviction moratorium on any property that has a federally backed mortgage.

Soon after, Ridgway began to see rent delinquency at The Grove on Gladstell, his small multifamily property in Conroe, Texas. Two tenants at the 52-unit property stopped paying rent and refused to communicate. And, like other landlords around the country with a federally backed mortgage, Ridgway had no ability to pursue an eviction remedy through the state courts.

Frustrated, Ridgway decided to take decisive action. He partnered with Anne Tseng, owner of the 16-unit Sappington Garden apartment complex in Fort Worth, to file a joint lawsuit against the U.S. government, challenging the legality of the moratorium.

“Housing is not free. And it's, in my mind, unconstitutional for the government to take away my rights and access to enforce a valid contract that I have with my residents, including access to collection efforts up to and including eviction,” Ridgway said.

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During the three or so weeks Dip Shabu Shabu has been reopened, business has been good.

Despite the summer weather, lines of people have flocked to the hot pot restaurant in Artesia, a suburb of Los Angeles. Some regular customers showed up five days in a row, Dip Shabu Shabu co-owner Rishi Patel said. 

Citing the surge of coronavirus cases across the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered several sectors in more than 30 counties to close again. The order throws many retail businesses and landlords that were already impacted by the first shutdown in March into another state of limbo. 

"We were able to get our PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan so I'm generally OK with this shutdown as long as it prevents the spread of the virus," Patel said.

"But it sucks. We're now using the loan money to keep the restaurant alive and will still have to pay it back while we're not generating any income right now," he said. "The point of the loan is to triple it ... And right now, no one knows when we can reopen again."

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This series aims to capture a moment in time, talking to men and women in commercial real estate about how their lives and businesses are being transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jason Deppen joined TFLiving from StubHub in January. As chief operating officer, he was tasked with overseeing the firm's platform, which manages amenity programming (fitness classes, resident events, etc.) at mostly residential buildings around the U.S. 

Almost immediately the job shifted under him. The pandemic hit, and he had to reinvent the entire platform to mostly virtual experiences, just a few weeks after being hired, and while working remotely.

To top it off, he has an inquisitive 5-year-old at home.

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