Winchester v. Commodity Credit Corp. (In re Winchester)

133 B.R. 368, 1991 Bankr. LEXIS 1618
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi
DecidedOctober 4, 1991
DocketBankruptcy No. 89-31324; Adv. No. 91-3047
StatusPublished

This text of 133 B.R. 368 (Winchester v. Commodity Credit Corp. (In re Winchester)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Winchester v. Commodity Credit Corp. (In re Winchester), 133 B.R. 368, 1991 Bankr. LEXIS 1618 (Miss. 1991).

Opinion

OPINION

DAVID W. HOUSTON, III, Bankruptcy Judge.

On consideration before the court is a motion to dismiss filed by the defendants, Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a corporation wholly owned by the United States of America, and Agricultural Stabilization & Conservation Service (ASCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture; response to said motion having been filed by the plaintiff, Mrs. Juanita C. Winchester, individually, and as the Executive of the Estate of Clarence E. Winchester, Deceased; and the court having heard and considered same hereby finds as follows, to-wit:

I.

The court has jurisdiction of the subject matter of and the parties to this proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334 and 28 U.S.C. § 157.

That portion of the plaintiff’s complaint seeking redress for the defendants’ alleged violation of the automatic stay is a core proceeding as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A), and (0).

The balance of the plaintiff’s complaint, dealing with the defendants’ decision to disallow the 1988 rice disaster payment allegedly owed to Clarence E. Winchester, is also a core proceeding as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A), (E), and (0). This portion of the complaint asserts a cause of action against two federal agencies which is not based on state law, but rather on federal statutes and regulations that are applicable to said agencies.

II.

The defendants contend through the motion to dismiss that the plaintiff has not exhausted her administrative remedies as required by law. The plaintiff takes the position that administrative remedies are not applicable to this proceeding, or, alternatively, that she falls within one of the exceptions to the theory that administrative remedies must be exhausted before proceeding in a judicial forum. These exceptions are set forth as follows:

1. The futility of the administrative processes.

2. The irreparable harm caused to the plaintiff, a Chapter 12 debtor in bankruptcy, as a result of being required to exhaust her available administrative remedies.

3. The unreasonable delay in the administration of the bankruptcy case caused by the debtor having to exhaust administrative remedies.

4. The agency’s callous disregard of the debtor’s Constitutional rights.

5. The inadequacy of the debtor’s remedies at law.

(See, Susquehanna Valley Alliance v. Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor, 619 F.2d 231 (3rd Cir.1980) and Baldwin Metals Co., Inc. v. Donovan, 642 F.2d 768 (5th Cir.1981)).

[370]*370III.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The factual scenario related to this proceeding essentially involves two farms which are located adjacent to each other in Quitman County, Mississippi:

Farm No. 738 — Operated by C & B Farms, Inc., a corporation owned by Clarence E. Winchester and his son, Bradley Winchester.

Farm No. 425 — Operated exclusively by Clarence E. Winchester, individually.

Both farms were leased during calendar year 1988, either directly or indirectly, from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

On May 16, 1988, pursuant to an application filed by Clarence E. Winchester (Mr. Winchester), the defendants made an advance payment under the 1988 Rice Disaster Program to Mr. Winchester in the sum of $6,449.00.

On August 17,1988, the Quitman County ASCS Committee (County Committee) met and rendered a decision reducing the yields on both farms, for purposes of calculating the rice disaster payments, to the actual production realized during 1988, which was zero. This decision effectively meant that neither Mr. Winchester nor C & B Farms, Inc., would receive any funds from the 1988 Rice Disaster Program. Also because of this action, the defendants took the position that the advance payment in the sum of $6,449.00 should be refunded by Mr. Winchester.

On September 15, 1988, J.R. Boyd, Jr., the ASCS County Executive Director for Quitman County, mailed a letter to Mr. Winchester, at an incorrect mailing address, purporting to advise him of the County Committee’s decision relative to both his farm and the farm operated by C & B Farms, Inc. Pertinent excerpts from this letter, attached as an exhibit to the defendants’ motion to dismiss, are set forth as follows:

Due to numerous reports from the public, I made a visit to your farms b25 and 738 on July 18 and inspected your rice crop, (emphasis added)

The following observations were made: Farm 425

1. Weeds and vegetation were 4 to 5 feet tall and rice could not be identified without getting in the field.

2. All fields were dry. No water was being pumped. Fields on the south end did not appear to have had any water at any time this year.

3. There was no evidence that any herbicides had been applied.

Farm 738

1. Vegetation was not as large on this place but it had not been controlled.

2. There was evidence that some kind of herbicide had been applied on some of the area.

3. I did not see a single levee that had been butted up.

4. There was no evidence of any water having been applied all year to any fields.

This information was presented to the County Committee on August 17, 1988. Donald Respess, Vice Chairman of the committee, stated that he sees some of your rice crop every day. He has also seen the rice on farm 738. He verified the conditions that I reported to the committee.

After reviewing the above information, the committee determined that normal cultural practices for the production of rice has not been carried out on your farms. ASCS procedure requires that when normal cultural practices have not been performed, the farm payment yield must be reduced to the yield that could be expected from practices actually performed. Therefore, this is to inform you that the committee determined that your 1988 rice payment yield will be reduced to the actual yield that you produce. Please submit your rice production immediately after harvesting, (emphasis added)

After protracted negotiations between the parties concerning a request for reconsideration, the following events occurred, all subsequent to Mr. and Mrs. Winchester’s bankruptcy filing on June 9, 1989:

[371]*371A. By a letter dated September 5, 1989, (Plaintiff’s Exhibit 4) the County Executive Director advised Mr. Winchester that on August 16, 1989, the County Committee had again conducted a meeting, reviewed his appeal, and denied his request as to both farms.

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133 B.R. 368, 1991 Bankr. LEXIS 1618, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/winchester-v-commodity-credit-corp-in-re-winchester-msnb-1991.