Kimberly Associates v. United States, 261 F.3d 864 (9th Cir. 2001)

On appeal from a district court decision that dismissed the plaintiff owner’s quiet title claim against RD, the Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s finding that the United States has waived sovereign immunity against a quiet title claim by an owner of a Section 515 development who sought to prepay a Section 515 loan in contravention of ELIHPA. It also reversed the district court’s conclusion that the unmistakability doctrine bars the action. The court reasoned that Congress enacted ELIHPA in its private capacity as a Section 515 loan originator and that it, therefore, was not protected by the unmistakability doctrine, which requires the federal government to waive its right to be sued in unmistakable terms. The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the Idaho District Court for further proceedings.