United States v. Hawley

619 F.3d 886, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17592, 2010 WL 3292710
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedAugust 23, 2010
Docket08-2992
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 619 F.3d 886 (United States v. Hawley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hawley, 619 F.3d 886, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17592, 2010 WL 3292710 (8th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

The United States brought a civil action against Russell T. Hawley, an insurance agent, and his insurance company, Hawley Insurance, Inc. (collectively, “Hawley”), alleging violations of the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(l)-(3) (2006), amended by Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, Pub.L. No. 111-21, § 4(a)(1), 123 Stat. 1617, 1621-22 (2009), and fraud under Iowa common law. The theory of the government’s suit was that Hawley defrauded the government by causing ineligible farmers to make claims against insurance policies that were issued by a private insurance company and rein-sured by a government corporation. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Hawley on all claims, and the government appeals. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I.

In 1938, Congress enacted the Federal Crop Insurance Act (the “Act”), 7 U.S.C. *889 §§ 1501-1524, to “improv[e] the economic stability of agriculture” by establishing a federal crop insurance program. Id. § 1502(a). To implement the program, Congress created the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (“FCIC”), a wholly owned government corporation within the United States Department of Agriculture. Id. § 1503; 7 C.F.R. § 400.701. In 1996, Congress created the Risk Management Agency (“RMA”), which administers the federal crop insurance program on behalf of the FCIC. We refer to the FCIC and the RMA jointly as the FCIC.

The FCIC contracts with approved private insurance companies to offer crop insurance policies to eligible farmers. 7 U.S.C. § 1502(b)(2). Under the program, farmers purchase policies from the designated private insurance companies, and insurance agents receive commissions for the policies they write for those companies. Those companies are in turn reinsured by the FCIC in accordance with the terms of a standard reinsurance agreement (“SRA”). Thus, when a farmer incurs a loss to an insured crop, the farmer files a claim with the private insurance company. The insurance company assesses the amount of the loss, pays the farmer’s claim for damage, and then seeks reimbursement from the FCIC. The FCIC reimburses the company for all or part of the amount paid to the farmer, depending on the particular arrangement set forth in the SRA. The FCIC also subsidizes a portion of the premiums paid by the insured farmers.

The approved private insurance company in this case was North Central Crop Insurance, Inc. (“NCCI”). Russell Haw-ley worked as a private insurance agent for NCCI. Hawley had experience in the crop insurance industry, having previously worked as a crop insurance adjuster for NCCI and another crop insurance company before starting his own crop insurance agency, Hawley Insurance, Inc., in 1994. As NCCI’s agent, Hawley sold Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (“MPCI”) policies to various individuals, receiving commissions from NCCI on those policies. MPCI policies are reinsured by the FCIC and offer coverage for crop losses. 7 C.F.R. §§ 400.701, 457.172. To obtain MPCI, the farmer must have a bona fide interest, or “insurable interest,” in the crop at the time coverage begins and must submit an application for insurance through an insurance agent. 7 C.F.R. §§ 400.651, 654(a). Once the insurance company accepts the application and issues an insurance policy to the farmer, the farmer must report and certify each year to the insurance company that he has an interest in the insured crop. Id. § 400.654(d). These reports are termed “acreage reports.” Id.

In February 2000, Hawley signed and submitted to NCCI a crop insurance application in the names of brothers Sydney and Stanley Windquist for crops in South Dakota. The Windquists, however, were ineligible to receive FCIC-reinsured coverage, because they had no insurable interest in the crops. The Windquists certified that they had an interest in the crops, and in June 2000, Hawley signed and submitted their acreage reports to NCCI. Subsequently, the Windquists filed claims with NCCI for losses to the insured crops, and NCCI paid the Windquists for those losses. The FCIC ultimately reimbursed NCCI for those payments and for premium subsidies on the Windquist policy, in the amount of $145,540. The government prosecuted the Windquists for federal crop insurance fraud, and the case was resolved when the Windquists admitted that they did not have an insurable interest in the crops and entered into pretrial diversion agreements.

*890 A similar sequence of events occurred in 2001. In March of that year, Hawley signed and submitted to NCCI an application for crop insurance in the name of Ed Marshall for land in South Dakota. Haw-ley received Marshall’s application from another individual, so Hawley never witnessed Marshall sign the application. Marshall eventually admitted to the government as part of a civil settlement agreement that he never signed the application, and that Hawley told him in April 2001 that he was insured on land in South Dakota. In June 2001, Hawley signed and submitted to NCCI acreage reports for the crop land in Marshall’s name, and Marshall eventually submitted claims to NCCI for losses to the insured crops. NCCI paid Marshall for those losses, and FCIC reimbursed NCCI for those payments and for premium subsidies in the amount of $159,960.

The government learned of Hawley’s actions, and in October 2006, brought a civil action against him in the district court. The complaint alleged that Hawley knowingly caused ineligible farmers to obtain MPCI coverage and to receive payments from NCCI, payments which the FCIC reimbursed. The government sought treble damages and civil penalties under three subsections of the FCA, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1) — (3) (2006), amended by Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, Pub.L. No. 111-21, § 4(a)(1), 123 Stat. 1617, 1621-22 (2009). Section 3729(a)(1) renders liable any person who “knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to an officer or employee of the United States Government ... a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval.” Section 3729(a)(2) imposes liability on any person who “knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by the Government.” And section 3729(a)(3) makes liable any person who “conspires to defraud the Government by getting a false or fraudulent claim allowed or paid.” The government also asserted an Iowa common-law claim of fraud.

The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. In April 2008, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Hawley on the government’s § 3729(a)(1) claim, but denied the motions on the remaining claims and set them for trial. United States v. Hawley, 544 F.Supp.2d 787 (N.D.Iowa 2008).

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Bluebook (online)
619 F.3d 886, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17592, 2010 WL 3292710, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hawley-ca8-2010.