Hall v. United States

69 Fed. Cl. 51, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 312, 2005 WL 2850890
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedOctober 31, 2005
DocketNo. 05-517C
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 69 Fed. Cl. 51 (Hall v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. United States, 69 Fed. Cl. 51, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 312, 2005 WL 2850890 (uscfc 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BRADEN, Judge.

RELEVANT FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1997, Mr. George W. Hall joined in a suit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, against the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) by a class of approximately 20,000 African-American farmers, alleging that the USDA, motivated by racial bias, failed to provide certain farming assistance to which they were entitled. See Compl. ¶ 8. On April 9, 1999, Mr. Hall entered into an individual Settlement Agreement with the USDA (“Settlement Agreement”). See Compl. ¶ 2. Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Hall opted out of the class action and agreed to release the USDA from all claims existing at the time of the signing. The Settlement Agreement provides that:

1. The Secretary, or his designee, shall:
(a) Pay to Mr. Hall the sum of $236, 250, which includes $61,250 to be applied to income taxes incurred as a result of this agreement
[53]*53(b) Forgive/release/cancel all outstanding indebtedness to the Farm Services Agency (“FSA”)(formerly Farmers Home Administration)
(c) Provide to Mr. Hall, for a period of 5 years from the date of his execution of this agreement, priority financial and technical assistance for those USDA programs for which Mr. Hall qualifies
(d) Ensure that Mr. Hall will have flexibility in selecting FSA officials with whom he must transact business
(e) To the extent legally permissible, assist Mr. Hall to ensure that he is given priority consideration for acquisition of inventory land
(f) Pay Mr. Hall’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs

See Settlement Agreement at 1. Thereafter, the initial class action litigation was settled. See Pigford v. Glickman, 185 F.R.D. 82 (D.D.C.1999), aff'd 206 F.3d 1212 (D.C.Cir. 2000).

On May 12, 2004, Mr. Hall filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama as a pro se Plaintiff alleging breach of contract arid retaliation. On March 15, 2004, the United States District Court dismissed all but one of Mr. Hall’s claims, ie., the claim alleging that the “denial of loan restructuring for Year 2001 as a Financial Distress Current Borrower” was unlawful discrimination in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691, et. seq., (“ECOA”). See Hall v. Ann Veneman, Sec’y, The United States Dep’t of Agric., No. CV-04-CO-0971-W, slip, op. at 8 (N.D.Ala. Nov. 15, 2004). Therein, Count II, alleging a breach of the Settlement Agreement, was dismissed, however, the United States District Court, advised Mr. Hall that this claim was subject to the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1), and the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Id. at 5.

On May 4, 2005, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in the United States Court of Federal Claims. See Compl. The Complaint alleges four counts arising from the USDA’s breach of the April 9, 1999 Settlement Agreement.1 Count I alleges that, on May 24, 1999, Mr. Hall requested a farming loan that the USDA failed to process in a timely manner. See Compl. ¶¶18, 19. In addition, Count I alleges that when Mr. Hall was paid in August of 1999, the amount authorized was “markedly” less than the amount requested. Id. Count I also alleges that Mr. Hall suffered damages as a result of the USDA’s failure to process his loan request in a timely manner, because he was unable to acquire the resources and an irrigation system necessary to grow crops in 1999. Id. ¶¶1-3, 19 ac. Finally, Count I alleges that the USDA’s delay in the processing of the loan request resulted in losses by Hall’s Homemade Syrup, a partnership in which Mr. Hall had an interest. Id. K 19c.

Count II alleges that in February of 2001 Mr. Hall applied for an emergency loan and requested technical assistance to complete an application. Id. ¶ 21. Count II alleges that the USDA breached Paragraph 1(c) of the Settlement Agreement by refusing to provide technical assistance and discouraging Mr. Hall’s attempts to complete an application for the emergency loan. Id. Count II further alleges that Mr. Hall incurred substantial damages as a result of the USDA’s failure to provide technical support because he was unable to acquire the resources necessary to grow crops in 2001 and, therefore, could not supply Hall’s Homemade Syrup with raw materials. Id. ¶¶ 22a-c; see also id. ¶¶1-4.

Count III alleges that in March of 2001, Mr. Hall applied for a “NAP 20 disaster program” for the year 2000, but initially was [54]*54paid an unreasonably small sum of disaster relief. Id. 1124. Count III also alleges that Mr. Hall successfully challenged the amount that he was awarded and received increased disaster relief two years later. Id. Count III alleges that this “unreasonable delay” breached the Agreement. Id. In addition, Count III further alleges that Mr. Hall incurred damages as a result of the delay in receiving the increased disaster relief, because he was unable to make payments on a 1999 loan, “subjected to administrative offset and loss of USDA related income,” and “subjected to administrative offset and loss of personal income.” Id. ITU 1, 2, 25a-e.

Count IV incorporates the allegations of Counts I, II, and III and further alleges that in August 2001 Mr. Hall submitted an application for loan restructuring “as a financially distressed current borrower” that the USDA erroneously denied after an unreasonable delay in processing. Id. HIT 27-32. Count IV alleges that Mr. Hall appealed that decision and, as a result, the USDA’s decision to deny his application for “servicing as a financially distressed current borrower” was reversed. Id. 111128, 29. Count IV alleges that this “series of breaches were willful, intentional, and combined with the Agency’s failure to honor the removal of discriminatory agents as servicing personnel, amount to retaliation against Mr, Hall for merely exercising his rights under the ECOA (Equal Credit Opportunity Act).” Id. IT 32. Count IV alleges that, as a result of these breaches, Mr. Hall suffered: undue hardship; emotional distress; mental anguish and humiliation; harm to good name and character; “loss of credit with Hall’s Farm and Hall’s Homemade Syrup.” Id. HIT 33a-e.

On July 5, 2005, the Government filed a Partial Motion to Dismiss (“Motion”). On September 12, 2005, Plaintiff filed a Response. On September 19, 2005, the Government filed a Reply Brief in Support of Defendant’s Partial Motion to Dismiss.

DISCUSSION

A. Jurisdiction.

It is well settled that the United States, as sovereign, cannot be sued without its consent. See United States v. Sherwood, 312 U.S. 584, 586, 61 S.Ct. 767, 85 L.Ed. 1058 (1941).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
69 Fed. Cl. 51, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 312, 2005 WL 2850890, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-united-states-uscfc-2005.