During those almost 14 years, PHA has lost on most major rulings, including two appeals, one of them to the U.S. Supreme Court.
No tenant in any of the PHA rowhouses has received a refund - PHA argues that tenants actually owe it money - and the legal costs are climbing.
PHA will only say it has paid outside counsel $296,910 during the last two years of the almost 14-year-old case. Under federal rules, it will also have to pay Community Legal Services' fees, plus the $290 an hour cost of a special master named last year in an attempt to end the litigation.
Most of the outside legal fees have been paid to attorneys now with the firm of Duane Morris L.L.P. Lead counsel in the case, Alan C. Kessler, referred all questions to PHA. Kessler also worked on the case when it was handled by the now-defunct firm of Wolf Block. A veteran partner can earn in excess of $400 an hour, though some firms give PHA a discount rate because it is a government agency.
An estimate of PHA's actual costs can be derived from the lengthy court filings. Extrapolating from Community Legal Services billings, it appears the PHA will face a total bill of around $1 million. PHA did not respond to a request for comment on that estimate.
Much of the legal work has occurred since 2002, when former Executive Director Carl R. Greene was replacing most of PHA's in-house lawyers with private law firms. Greene was fired last September after disclosures that PHA secretly settled three sexual-harassment complaints against him.
With luck, and no more appeals, McDowell v. PHA could end this fall.
It is only one of many lawsuits that have run up PHA's legal costs.
