Raines v. United States

12 Cl. Ct. 530, 1987 U.S. Claims LEXIS 106
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJune 19, 1987
DocketNo. 657-84C
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 12 Cl. Ct. 530 (Raines 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
Raines v. United States, 12 Cl. Ct. 530, 1987 U.S. Claims LEXIS 106 (cc 1987).

Opinion

DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SETO, Judge.

This action comes before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, or in the alternative, for summary judgment. Plaintiffs claim breach of a payment-in-kind (PIK) contract and seek relief in the form of wheat, diversion payments, treatment and storage costs, and damages that resulted from the alleged breach. This motion raises three issues: (1) whether plaintiffs’ claim seeks injunc-tive relief and therefore is outside our jurisdiction; (2) whether judicial review has been precluded by statute; and (3) whether defendant is estopped from asserting defenses on the breach of contract claim. For the reasons discussed below, the court finds that plaintiffs’ claim is within our jurisdiction and subject to limited judicial review. On review, we hold that the administrative decision withstands judicial scrutiny and should not be overturned on the grounds that it was arbitrary, capricious or without a rational basis. Moreover, plaintiffs have not demonstrated the requisite elements for estoppel, and defendant, raising its legal defense, is entitled to summary judgment on the merits.

BACKGROUND

This action arises from plaintiffs Robert W. and Donna J. Raines’ participation in the 1983 payment-in-kind or PIK program through a contract between plaintiffs and the Commodity Credit Corporation, an agency of the United States. The PIK program was conducted in accordance with the Agricultural Act of 1949 (1949 Act), as amended, 7 U.S.C. § 1421 et seq. (1982), the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (CCC Charter Act), as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 714 et seq., and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder, 7 C.F.R. Parts 713 and 770. In essence, the PIK program provided agricultural commodities to participant producers who in [532]*532exchange agreed not to plant those commodities on designated acreage during the 1983 growing year. The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), instituted the PIK program to enhance market prices of major farm commodities and to reduce government storage expenses.1

Under the PIK program, the Department of Agriculture entered into contracts with farmers who agreed to devote to a conserving use, i.e., set aside, acreage normally planted in certain commodities. In return, the government compensated farmers with “payment-in-kind” in the form of the commodity that the farmer would otherwise have planted and harvested. 7 C.F.R. § 770.1(a) (1984) (first published in 48 Fed. Reg. 1696 (1983)). The payment to the farmer was calculated by multiplying the commodity yield (as determined by Part 713 of 7 C.F.R.) by the acreage devoted to a conserving use, and then multiplying that product by 95 percent for wheat or 80 percent for other commodities. Id. § 770.-3(a)(1). Payment as determined by this formula was to be made within five months of the normal harvest date for the commodity in that farm area. Id. § 770.3(a)(3).

In addition to the program described above, another PIK program was implemented, which provided that 100 percent of a farm’s acreage base for a designated commodity could be devoted to an approved conserving use. Id. § 770.2(a)(2)(h). Under this program, the farmer received a cash payment of 5 percent of the farm’s wheat acreage base and a PIK payment for 95 percent of the base. A contract for this “100 percent PIK” was awarded by competitive bid, and the percentage of the established yield could not exceed 95 percent for wheat.

FACTS

On March 10, 1983, plaintiffs executed a contract to participate in the 1983 wheat PIK program. At that time, the county office of the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) determined plaintiffs’ PIK compensation to be 61,476 bushels of wheat. See Plaintiffs’ Exhibit A. It is not disputed that plaintiffs complied with the terms of the contract by destroying wheat that they had planted as required under the terms of the agreement. See Plaintiffs’ Response at 9. On October 20, 1983, the ASCS county office, after correcting an error in the original calculation, reduced the amount of wheat due plaintiffs to 39,121 bushels. The error was attributed to a miscalculation made by ASCS personnel in determining the blended yield average for plaintiffs’ farm. Plaintiffs contend that their decision to participate in the PIK program was based solely on the original figures, and they would not have participated had they been quoted the lower amount at the time they entered into the contract.

Plaintiffs, after learning of the error made in calculating average yield, requested, as provided for in 7 C.F.R. Parts 7802 [533]*533and 790 3, that the ASCS officials reconsider their decision to adjust the PIK compensation. The county committee determined that the original contract terms should be honored, see Plaintiff’s Exhibit F at 127, and the state committee upon reconsideration also determined that the original terms should be upheld and plaintiffs were entitled to receive the higher quantity. See id. at 134. The decision was then brought before the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations (DASCO) for review, which resulted in a denial of the original terms of plaintiffs’ PIK contract. See id. at 135. Plaintiffs sought reconsideration of the adverse DASCO decision and after an informal hearing in Washington, D.C., the appeal was denied. See id. at 146.

Having exhausted their administrative remedies at the federal DASCO level of review, see 7 C.F.R. Part 780 (1983), plaintiffs filed an action in federal district court. See Plaintiffs’ Exhibit B. Defendant successfully moved to transfer the action to the Claims Court, where it asserted that exclusive jurisdiction of this contract dispute lies. See Plaintiffs' Exhibit D.

As bases for its motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment, defendant asserts that: (1) the CCC Charter Act’s anti-injunction provisions preclude the relief plaintiffs seek and we therefore lack jurisdiction; (2) review of ASCS determinations has been precluded by statute; and (3) defendant is not estopped from asserting defenses. We address each theory in turn.

DISCUSSION

I. Does CCC Charter Act Preclude Relief Plaintiffs Seek

Defendant moves to dismiss on the ground that plaintiffs’ claim is one for “equitable relief in the form of specific performance,” and asserts that this court lacks jurisdictional authority to grant the relief plaintiffs seek, as our jurisdiction is limited to actions seeking money judgments. In support of this assertion defendant cites United States v. King, 395 U.S. 1, 4, 89 S.Ct. 1501, 1502, 23 L.Ed.2d 52 (1968); United States v. Sherwood, 312 U.S. 584, 588, 61 S.Ct. 767, 770, 85 L.Ed. 1058 (1941);

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Bluebook (online)
12 Cl. Ct. 530, 1987 U.S. Claims LEXIS 106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/raines-v-united-states-cc-1987.