Everman National Bank v. United States

5 Cl. Ct. 118, 1984 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1436
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedApril 10, 1984
DocketNo. 494-81C
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 5 Cl. Ct. 118 (Everman National Bank v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Everman National Bank v. United States, 5 Cl. Ct. 118, 1984 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1436 (cc 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

WHITE, Senior Judge.

The plaintiff, Everman National Bank (the Bank), of Fort Worth, Texas, seeks to recover in this action under a Contract of Guarantee which the Farmers Home Administration (the FmHA) of the Department of Agriculture issued to the Bank on January 9, 1976, in connection with an Emergency Livestock Loan of $160,000 made by the Bank to Truett C. House (Mr. House).

The defendant contends that the Bank is precluded from recovering because of a paragraph in the Contract of Guarantee stating in part as follows:

This contract shall constitute an obligation supported by the full faith and credit of the United States and is incontestable except for fraud or misrepresentation of which Lender had actual knowledge at the time it became such Lender * * *. In addition, this contract will be unenforceable by the Lender to the extent that any loss is occasioned by * * * negligent servicing * * *. [Emphasis supplied.]

The Contract of Guarantee was issued by the FmHA in accordance with the authority granted by the Emergency Livestock Credit Act of 1974 (Pub.L. 93-357, 88 Stat. 391) (the Act). The Act, as amended by Public Law 94-35 (89 Stat. 213), authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to issue 90 percent loan guarantees through the FmHA to lending institutions in connection with loans made to livestock and poultry producers suffering losses due to adverse conditions.

During the 1971-75 period, Mr. House was a dairyman operating a dairy in the Fort Worth milkshed. He obtained from the Bank several loans with which to finance his dairy operations; and, as of October 1975, he was indebted to the Bank in connection with a $145,000 loan which he had obtained in October 1974.

Alleged Misrepresentation

The defendant contends (inter alia) that the Contract of Guarantee issued by the FmHA to the Bank on January 9, 1976, is void because of a misrepresentation in the Request for Contract of Guarantee which the Bank submitted to the FmHA in order to obtain the contract.

In October 1975, Mr. House asked the Bank to make a new loan to him in the amount of $160,000 for the purpose of retiring the existing debt on the $145,000 loan, and so that he would have available some funds with which to buy feed for his dairy cattle. On or about October 24,1975, the Bank submitted to the FmHA a Request for Contract of Guarantee in connection with the $160,000 loan desired by Mr. House.

The Bank’s request stated (among other things) that Mr. House’s planned milk production from 277 dairy cows would be 3,490,200 pounds of milk per year, for a value of $349,020. This price was obviously calculated on the basis of $10 per 100 pounds of milk, which was approximately the price that was then being received by Texas dairy farmers for Grade A milk sold for direct human consumption. Consequently, the portion of the Request for Contract of Guarantee relating to milk production was a representation by the Bank that the milk from Mr. House’s dairy was —and, during the period of the loan, would be — Grade A milk sold for direct human consumption.

The FmHA approved the application for a 90 percent loan guarantee on the $160,-[120]*120000 loan by the Bank to Mr. House; and a Contract of Guarantee was issued by the FmHA to the Bank on January 9, 1976.

After receiving the Contract of Guarantee from the FmHA, the Bank made the $160,000 loan to Mr. House. The proceeds of the loan were used for the purposes stated by Mr. House in his application.

When the Bank submitted the Request for Contract of Guarantee to the FmHA on or about October 24, 1975, Mr. House held a Grade A permit issued by the City of Fort Worth. However, a sample of milk taken by a city inspector from Mr. House’s dairy about the middle of October 1975 had revealed a bacteria count that exceeded the standard prescribed by Fort Worth for bacteria. Because of this, the inspector assigned to the House dairy returned to the dairy in the latter part of October 1975 and took a second sample of milk. An analysis of the second sample revealed that the milk was still in violation of the standard prescribed by Fort Worth for the bacteria count. As a result of these developments, the City of Fort Worth suspended Mr. House’s Grade A permit on October 30, 1975.

Fort Worth health officials notified the distributing dairy, which had been purchasing Mr. House’s milk for Grade A use, that Mr. House had lost his Grade A permit and, consequently, that milk from Mr. House’s dairy could not be used for Grade A purposes.

Soon after the suspension of Mr. House’s Grade A permit, Mr. House asked Fort Worth health officials to reinstate his Grade A permit. Pursuant to this request, the inspector assigned to Mr. House’s dairy returned to the dairy and informed Mr. House that, in order to regain his Grade A permit, it would be necessary for him to sign a document stating where he had disposed of the milk while the dairy was off grade. If Mr. House had furnished this information, and if it had shown that the milk had not been disposed of for direct human consumption during the period of suspension, the suspension would have been lifted without further delay and Mr. House could have resumed the sale of milk under his Grade A permit. However, Mr. House refused to tell the inspector, or to sign a document stating, what had happened to the milk from his dairy during the period of suspension.

In view of Mr. House’s refusal to furnish to the inspector information regarding the disposition of his milk during the period of suspension, the City of Fort Worth notified Mr. House that on November 17, 1975, there would be a hearing at which he would be required to furnish information regarding the disposition of his milk during the period of suspension. The notice further stated that if he failed to furnish such information, his Grade A permit would be revoked.

The hearing was held on November 17, 1975. At the hearing, city officials asked Mr. House to tell them, and to sign a document stating, what had happened to his milk while his dairy was off grade. Mr. House refused to furnish the information demanded by city officials. Because of this, the City of Fort Worth revoked Mr. House’s Grade A permit on November 17, 1975.

Although Mr. House continued to operate his dairy in the Fort Worth milkshed until April 1976, the milk could not be sold for direct human consumption; and Mr. House’s financial situation continued to deteriorate.

In April 1976, Mr. House moved his dairy from the Fort Worth milkshed to the Waco, Texas, milkshed. Mr. House had a son who was operating a dairy in the Waco milkshed under a Grade A permit; and it was Mr. House’s expectation that he would be able to sell his milk in the Waco milkshed for direct human consumption under his son’s Grade A permit.

However, Mr. House’s dairy operation in the Waco milkshed was never successful; and on August 31, 1976, Mr. House went into bankruptcy.

The sale of Mr. House’s assets yielded $48,004.28 to the Bank (net after the payment of certain expenses), for application [121]*121on the much larger amount then owing by Mr. House to the Bank on the $160,000 loan.

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Related

First Interstate Bank of Billings, N.A. v. United States
27 Fed. Cl. 348 (Federal Claims, 1992)
Colorado State Bank of Walsh v. United States
18 Cl. Ct. 611 (Court of Claims, 1989)
Everman National Bank v. The United States
756 F.2d 865 (Federal Circuit, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
5 Cl. Ct. 118, 1984 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1436, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/everman-national-bank-v-united-states-cc-1984.