Cash v. United States

571 F. Supp. 513, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13254
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 29, 1983
DocketCiv. A. C83-57N
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 571 F. Supp. 513 (Cash v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cash v. United States, 571 F. Supp. 513, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13254 (N.D. Ga. 1983).

Opinion

ORDER

TIDWELL, District Judge.

The above-styled matter is presently before the court on a motion to dismiss filed *514 on behalf of defendants the United States of America, John Block, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Charles W. Shuman, Administrator, Farmers Home Administration, Orson G. Swindle, III, Georgia State Director, Farmers Home Administration, and the United States Farmers Home Administration (the “federal defendants”). In addition, defendants Budget Builders, Inc. and M.G. Helton (the “local defendants”) have filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and a motion to strike, as well as a “plea to the jurisdiction” and a “special plea of accord and satisfaction.” The instant suit arose out of allegedly defective construction of a house presently occupied by the plaintiffs, financed by defendant Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), and built by defendant Helton. Plaintiffs contend that defendant United States of America is liable to them under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680, for alleged negligent failure by employees of the FmHA to properly supervise and inspect the construction of their house as required by statute, and they further seek declaratory and injunctive relief from the alleged failure of the FmHA and its named officials to act on their administrative claim for compensation for construction defects. Finally, plaintiffs claim that defendant Helton, individually and/or as agent for defendant Budget Builders, Inc., breached the construction contract between himself and plaintiffs, and also breached his Builder’s Warranty. The court will address the federal defendants’ motion first.

It is undisputed that plaintiffs presented their FTCA claim to the FmHA on September 3, 1982, and that no disposition of the claim was made by the agency within six months. This court therefore concludes that plaintiffs are authorized by the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 2675(a) to bring this action. The tort claim can only succeed, however, if the FmHA had a duty to the plaintiffs to supervise and inspect construction of their home. In Parker v. Knebel, No. EC 76-210-K (N.D.Miss.1978), the court found the existence of such a duty based on 42 U.S.C. §§ 1471(a), 1476(a), 1479(a) and 7 CFR 1800 et seq. The court noted:

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to “determine and prescribe the standards of adequate farm housing and other buildings,” 42 USC § 1479(a), to extend financial assistance in such construction, 42 USC § 1471(a), and to require that all new buildings be completed in conformity with the plans and specifications which have been required by him. 42 USC § 1476(a). Furthermore, 42 USC § 1476(a) states affirmatively that “[b]uildings and repairs constructed with funds advanced pursuant to this subehapter shall be supervised and inspected as required by the Secretary.” (Emphasis added). This statutory grant of discretion to the Secretary in determining the appropriate standards of construction and whether to require supervision and inspection to insure that such standards had been met was accepted by the Secretary when he, by promulgation of 7 CFR §§ 1800 et seq., elected to require at least some degree of supervision and inspection.

Id. at 4. The court specifically relied on the regulations found at 7 CFR 1804.4(g)(1), (3), which provided, inter alia, that “[t]he County Supervisor, accompanied by the borrower when practicable, will make final inspections of all development work and periodic inspections as appropriate” and that “[t]he County Supervisor will inspect development work as frequently as necessary to assure that construction and land development conforms with the plans and specifications.” Similarly, the courts in Park v. United States, 517 F.Supp. 970 (D.Or.1981), and Neal v. Bergland, 646 F.2d 1178 (6th Cir. 1981), aff’d sub nom. Block v. Neal, - U.S. -, 103 S.Ct. 1089, 75 L.Ed.2d 67 (1983), cited 7 CFR 1804.4(g) and found the existence of a duty on the part of the FmHA to borrowers based on the principle that if the government undertakes to perform an activity and is negligent in that performance, it may be liable where the public has come to rely on such perform *515 anee. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 323 (1965).

The regulations found at 7 CFR 1804 were amended and redesignated effective June 12, 1980, 45 Fed.Reg. 39789 (1980), some two months prior to plaintiffs’ entering into a contract for the construction of their home on August 19, 1980. The new regulations are found at 7 CFR 1924 and state, inter alia:

(a) Responsibility for inspection. The County Supervisor or District Director, accompanied by the borrower when practicable, will make final inspection of all development work and periodic inspections as appropriate to protect the security interest of the government. ... The borrower will be responsible for making inspections necessary to protect the borrower’s interest. FmHA’s inspections are not to assure the borrower that the house is built in accordance with the plans and specifications. The inspections create or imply no duty or obligation to the particular borrower but are, rather, for the dual purposes of determining that FmHA has adequate security for its loan and enabling FmHA to determine that FmHA is working toward achieving the statutory goal of providing adequate housing....
(b) Frequency of inspections....
(5) The borrower should make enough periodic visits to the site to be familiar with the progress and performance of the work, in order to protect the borrower’s interest.

7 CFR 1924.9(a), (b)(5). The amended regulations in effect at the time the plaintiffs obtained financing through FmHA clearly and unequivocally indicate that it is the responsibility of the borrower to make those inspections necessary to protect his interest.

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Bluebook (online)
571 F. Supp. 513, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cash-v-united-states-gand-1983.