Pettersen v. United States

10 Cl. Ct. 194, 1986 U.S. Claims LEXIS 854
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJune 24, 1986
DocketNo. 424-85C
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 10 Cl. Ct. 194 (Pettersen 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
Pettersen v. United States, 10 Cl. Ct. 194, 1986 U.S. Claims LEXIS 854 (cc 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PHILIP R. MILLER, Judge:

This action arises from plaintiffs Terry, David and Lloyd Pettersen’s participation in the 1984 Feed Grain Program through contracts with the Watonwan County, Minnesota Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), acting on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an instrumentality of the United States. At issue is whether defendant breached those contracts by declaring plaintiffs ineligible for agricultural price support payments. Both parties move for summary judgment on a stipulated record transferred to this court by the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Statement of Facts

Plaintiffs are the operators of two farms located primarily in Watonwan County, Minnesota. On March 8, 1984, they executed contracts with the Watonwan County ASCS (County Committee), acting on behalf of the CCC, to participate in the 1984 Feed Grain Program (Program). These farms were assigned ASCS serial numbers 2-235 and 2-464 for Program purposes.

The 1984 Program was authorized by section 105B of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, 7 U.S.C. § 1444d, and is implemented by the County Committee on CCC’s behalf. 15 U.S.C. § 714, et seq. Farmers eligible under the program qualify for commodity loans, as well as deficiency payments, for their corn and grain sorghum crops; for 1984, the deficiency payment was based on the difference between a statutory target price of $3.03 per bushel, 7 U.S.C. § 1444d(b)(l)(C), and the “national average”, a price based upon the average price of corn at several locations over a four month period. The amount of the deficiency actually paid for the 1984 crop was 43c per bushel.

To participate in the Program, plaintiffs established a com and grain sorghum acreage base for each farm for the crop year, and agreed to plant no more than their allotted acreage. Plaintiffs’ 1984 com and grain sorghum acreage bases. for farms 2-235 and 2-464 were 305 and 1314.9 acres, respectively.

[196]*196Another requirement of the 1984 Feed Grain Program was acreage reduction, or set-aside. Plaintiffs agreed to reduce their planted acreage by 11.11 percent, so that the maximum acreage that plaintiffs could actually plant on farm 2-235 was 274.5 acres; they agreed to keep 30.4 acres out of production and devoted to approved conservation reserve (ACR). For farm 2-464, the maximum planted acreage allowed was 1183.4 acres, with 124.1 acres to be devoted to ACR.

On July 10, 1984, plaintiffs certified to the County Committee that they had planted 273.5 acres and set aside 31.5 acres for ACR on farm 2-235, and that they had planted 1117.4 acres and set aside 124.5 acres for ACR on farm 2-464. At the time of certification, plaintiffs were informed that they did not have sufficient acreage devoted to ACR. They stated that they would make the necessary adjustments. A visual inspection of farm 2-464 on August 13, 1984 revealed those changes to be insufficient.

On August 23, 1984, the County Committee notified plaintiffs that aerial inspection of farm 2-235 revealed actual ACR of only 22.7 acres, amounting to 8.8 less than reported and 7.7 acres less than required by the Program. The discrepancy amounted to a 25 percent deficiency in ACR, and exceeded the deviation permissible.1 The County Committee declared plaintiffs ineligible for any payments under the Program for farm 2-235.

On August 28, 1984, the County Committee notified plaintiffs that aerial inspection showed that farm 2-464 measured actual ACR at only 104.0 acres, 20.5 acres less than reported and 20.1 acres less than required by the Program. The 16 percent deficiency exceeded the permissible deviation, and plaintiffs were declared ineligible to receive payments for farm 2-464.

Pursuant to their appeal rights under the contract, plaintiffs received a hearing before the County Committee to discuss the denial of Program benefits on August 29, 1984. As a result of that hearing, the County Committee notified plaintiffs of its determination:

On Farm #2-464, the corn acres measure 25.6 acres more than you certified. The ACR acres measure 20.5 acres less than certified. On Farm 2-235, the corn acres measure 7.7 more than the certified. The ACR acres measure 8.8 less than the certified acres.
The Committee has carefully reviewed your report of acres again. In light of the fact that you stated that you had not actually measured any of the fields and that the measured acreages vary so much from the reported acres, they have determined a lack of good faith on your part.
Both farms, 2-464 and 2-235, are therefore ineligible for program benefits and a liquidation charge is assessed for not complying with the signed Feed Grain Contract.

Plaintiffs first appealed to the Minnesota State ASCS Office which, after an informal hearing, upheld the County Committee’s findings and determination that plaintiffs were ineligible for price supports. Plaintiffs then appealed to the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations, ASCS, in Washington, D.C. An informal hearing was held on December 11, 1984. The Deputy Administrator, by letter dated January 25, 1985, determined that the State Committee had acted properly. However, because plaintiffs had reduced corn production and “because acreage (although insufficient to earn 1984 program benefits) was taken out of production,” the Deputy Administrator waived the assessment of liquidated damages and granted “1984 corn planted and considered planted credit equal to the 1984 acreage base for each of the two farms.” That determination concluded plaintiffs’ administrative remedies under the contracts.

Plaintiffs filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Min[197]*197nesota, seeking judicial review of the agency’s determination, and reinstatement to the 1984 Feed Grain Program and payment of full benefits. On July 10, 1985, the district court ordered the case to be transferred to this court. Both parties move for summary judgment, agreeing that there are no disputed issues of fact.

Contentions of the Parties

Plaintiffs argue that judicial review of government conduct is not precluded by 7 U.S.C. § 1385,2 relying on Garvey v. Freeman, 397 F.2d 600 (10th Cir.1968) and King v. Bergland, 517 F.Supp. 1363 (D.Colo.1981), and that the standard of review derives from the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), which provides:

* * * the court shall hold unlawful and set aside agency actions, findings and conclusions found to be: (A) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law * * *.

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16 Cl. Ct. 663 (Court of Claims, 1989)
Morrison v. United States Farmers Home Administration
682 F. Supp. 1387 (S.D. Mississippi, 1987)
Raines v. United States
12 Cl. Ct. 530 (Court of Claims, 1987)
Nutt v. United States
12 Cl. Ct. 345 (Court of Claims, 1987)
Morgan v. United States
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Pettersen v. United States
807 F.2d 993 (Federal Circuit, 1986)
Gibson v. United States
11 Cl. Ct. 6 (Court of Claims, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
10 Cl. Ct. 194, 1986 U.S. Claims LEXIS 854, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pettersen-v-united-states-cc-1986.