POAH-MPTTA Joint Venture, LLC, et al. v. New Mass Pike Towers Limited Partnership, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-027-17)
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUFFOLK, ss. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION No. 16-03282-BLS1 POAH – MPTTA JOINT VENTURE, LLC & another1 vs. NEW MASS PIKE TOWERS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP & others2 MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS’ SECOND SUBSTITUTE COMPLAINT Plaintiffs, POAH – MPTTA Joint Venture, LLC (Joint Venture) and Mass Pike Towers Tenants Association, Inc. (MPTTA), filed this action for declaratory judgment against defendants, New Mass Pike Towers Limited Partnership, Trinity Financial, Inc., and Trinity Mass Pike Towers, Inc (referred to collectively as “Trinity”). Trinity moves to dismiss plaintiffs’ “Second Substitute Complaint” (Complaint) for lack of jurisdiction under Mass. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), failure to state a claim under Mass. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), and for failure to add indispensable parties under Mass. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(7) and Mass. R. Civ. P. 19. Count I is brought solely by the Joint Venture, and Count II is brought solely by MPTTA. In both counts, plaintiffs seek declaratory judgment relating to the potential purchase and sale of Mass Pike Towers. For the reasons stated below, Trinity’s motion to dismiss is allowed. 1 Mass Pike Towers Tenants Association, Inc. 2 Trinity Mass Pike Towers, Inc., as general partner of New Mass Pike Towers Limited Partnership, and Trinity Financial, Inc. BACKGROUND The facts as revealed by the Complaint are as follows. Mass Pike Towers is a two hundred unit subsidized housing complex in the Chinatown section of Boston, Massachusetts. Plaintiff MPTTA is a 501(c)(3) charitable association of the tenants of Mass Pike Towers. Plaintiff Joint Venture is a Massachusetts limited liability company, consisting of MPTTA and Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH).3 In this action, the Joint Venture seeks a declaration for specific enforcement of an option it allegedly received from the City of Boston to purchase Mass Pike Towers. As an alternative ground for relief, MPTTA asserts in Count II that there is an actual controversy between the parties as to whether MPTTA should be allowed to exercise the option on its own behalf. Plaintiffs request that the court issue a declaration of their rights. In 1999, defendant, Trinity Financial, Inc., a local for-profit development company, submitted proposals seeking approval and support from the City of Boston, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development to purchase Mass Pike Towers. Trinity proposed to purchase Mass Pike Towers for a below-market price of $ 6.1 million. The appraised value of the property was $ 7.8 million. Trinity proposed to purchase Mass Pike Towers without contributing any cash itself. Trinity also proposed to receive a developer’s fee of $ 3.4 million. Public resources were […]