Davids As Trustee Of Harold D. v. USDA

• Decision Date: 18 March 2019
• Docket Number: No. 17-CV-3091-LRR,17-CV-3091-LRR
• Parties: Karen G. DAVIDS, AS TRUSTEE OF the HAROLD D. and Karen G. Davids Revocable Trust, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa

367 F.Supp.3d 880

Karen G. DAVIDS, AS TRUSTEE OF the HAROLD D. and Karen G. Davids Revocable Trust, Plaintiff,

v.UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Defendant.

No. 17-CV-3091-LRR

United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Central Division.

Signed March 18, 2019

Thomas A. Lawler, Lawler & Swanson PLC, Parkersburg, IA, for Plaintiff.

Jacob A Schunk, US Attorney's Office, Cedar Rapids, IA, for Defendant.

ORDER

LINDA R. READE, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ...882

II. RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY ...882

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW ...883

A. Review of Final Decision ...883

B. Review of Report and Recommendation ...883

IV. RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND ...884

V. RELEVANT STATUTORY BACKGROUND ...885

VI. OBJECTIONS ...886

A. The Clark Case ...886

B. NRCS's Duty to Consider Evidence of Minimal Effects. ...887

C. NFSAM Compliance ...888

D. Affirmance of the Final Decision ...889

VII. CONCLUSION ...889

I. INTRODUCTION

The matter before the court is Plaintiff Karen G. Davids's Objections (docket no. 31) to United States Chief Magistrate Judge Kelly K.E. Mahoney's Report and Recommendation (docket no. 30), which recommends that the court affirm the decision of Defendant United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") and enter judgment in its favor. See Report and Recommendation at 9.

II. RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 2, 2017, Plaintiff filed a Complaint (docket no. 1), seeking judicial review of a final administrative decision denying the applicability of the "minimal effect" exception to wetlands located on farmland owed by Davids. See generally Complaint. On January 12, 2018, the USDA filed an Answer (docket no. 6). On April 20, 2018, Davids filed the Plaintiff's Brief (docket no. 25). On May 25, 2018, the USDA filed the Defendant's Brief (docket no. 27). On June 7, 2018, Davids filed the Reply Brief (docket no. 28). On June 8, 2018, 2018, the matter was referred to Judge Mahoney for issuance of a report and recommendation. On October 16, 2018, Judge Mahoney issued the Report and Recommendation, which recommends that the court affirm the USDA's decision. On October 30, 2018, Davids filed the Objections. On November 6, 2018, the USDA filed a Response (docket no. 32) to Davids's Objections. Neither party has requested oral argument and the court finds that oral argument is unnecessary. The matter is fully submitted and ready for decision.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Review of Final Decision

The USDA's decision is the result of formal adjudication and, therefore, judicial review is governed by the standard set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). See id. Under the APA, a reviewing court may set aside an agency decision if it is "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law" or "unsupported by substantial evidence." 5 U.S.C. §§ 706(2)(A), (E). "When reviewing an agency decision, [the court] accord[s] substantial deference to the agency's interpretation of the statutes and regulations it administers." Siebrasse v. USDA , 418 F.3d 847, 851 (8th Cir. 2005). However, courts do not defer to an agency interpretation that is "inconsistent with the plain language of the statute or constitutes an unreasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute." Afolayan v. INS , 219 F.3d 784, 787 (8th Cir. 2000). Simply put, courts "do not defer to legal interpretations that are arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statutory law." Patel v. Ashcroft , 375 F.3d 693, 696 (8th Cir. 2004).

B. Review of Report and Recommendation

Pursuant to statute, the court applies the following standard of review to the report and recommendation of a magistrate judge:

A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.

28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Similarly, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b) provides for de novo review of a magistrate judge's report and recommendation on dispositive motions when objections are made. Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that it is reversible error for a district court to fail to conduct a de novo review of a magistrate judge's report and recommendation when such review is required. See United States v. Lothridge , 324 F.3d 599, 600 (8th Cir. 2003) (providing that "failure to engage in the required de novo review is reversible error").

The statute governing review provides only for de novo review of "those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made." 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). When a party fails to object to any portion of a magistrate judge's report and recommendation, he or she waives the right to de novo review. See Griffini v. Mitchell , 31 F.3d 690, 692 (8th Cir. 1994).

The United States Supreme Court has stated that "[t]here is no indication that Congress, in enacting § 636(b)(1) [ ], intended to require a district judge to review a magistrate's report to which no objections are filed." Thomas v. Arn , 474 U.S. 140, 152, 106 S.Ct. 466, 88 L.Ed.2d 435 (1985). However, "while the statute does not require the judge to review an issue de novo if no objections are filed, it does not preclude further review by the district judge, sua sponte or at the request of a party, under de novo or any other standard." Id. at 154, 106 S.Ct. 466.

The Eighth Circuit has suggested that in order to trigger de novo review, objections to a magistrate judge's conclusions must be specific. See Branch v. Martin , 886 F.2d 1043, 1046 (8th Cir. 1989) ; see also Belk v. Purkett , 15 F.3d 803, 815 (8th Cir. 1994) (noting that some circuits do not apply de novo review when a party makes only general and conclusory objections to a magistrate judge's report and recommendation and finding that Branch indicates the Eighth Circuit's "approval of such an exception"); Thompson v. Nix , 897 F.2d 356, 357-58 (8th Cir. 1990) (reminding parties that "objections must be ... specific to trigger de novo review by the [d]istrict [c]ourt of any portion of the magistrate's report and recommendation"). The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has explained this approach as follows:

A general objection to the entirety of the magistrate's report has the same effects as would a failure to object. The district court's attention is not focused on any specific issues for review, thereby making the initial reference to the magistrate useless. The functions of the district court are effectively duplicated as both the magistrate and the district court perform identical tasks. This duplication of time and effort wastes judicial resources rather than saving them, and runs contrary to the purposes of the Magistrates Act. We would hardly countenance an appellant's brief simply objecting to the district court's determination without explaining the source of the error. We should not permit appellants to do the same to the district court reviewing the magistrate's report.

Howard v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs. , 932 F.2d 505, 509 (6th Cir. 1991) ; see also Goney v. Clark , 749 F.2d 5, 6 n.1 (3d Cir. 1984) (finding that "plaintiff's objections lacked the specificity necessary to trigger de novo review"); Whited v. Colvin , No. C 13-4039-MWB, 2014 WL 1571321, at *2-3 (N.D. Iowa Apr. 18, 2014) (concluding that, because the plaintiff "offer[ed] nothing more than a conclusory objection to ... [the report and recommendation] ... [the plaintiff's] objection [should be treated] as if he had not objected at all"); Banta Corp. v. Hunter Publ'g Ltd. P'ship , 915 F.Supp. 80, 81 (E.D. Wis. 1995) ("De novo review of a magistrate judge's recommendation is required only for those portions of the recommendation for which particularized objections, accompanied by legal authority and argument in support of the objections, are made.").

IV. RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In 2005, Davids and her now deceased husband, Harold Davids, purchased a farm in Kossuth County, Iowa.¹ Administrative Record ("AR") at 384. In 2011, Davids completed a tile installation project to restore and improve drainage on the farm. Id. In June 2012, Harold Davids filed an AD-1026 form, a wetlands certification form, informing the USDA of the drainage tile alteration and acknowledging that a wetland evaluation may be conducted by the National Resource Conservation Service ("NRCS"). Id. at 385; Complaint at ¶ 16. On April 21, 2016, the NRCS filed its final determination that, as a result of the 2011 drainage tile installation project, 1.55 acres of the Davids's farmland was converted wetland. See AR at 5; Complaint at ¶ 17.

Davids appealed the NRCS's decision to the National Appeals Division ("NAD"). See Complaint at ¶ 19. Davids argued that the 1.55 acres determined to be converted wetland was actually farmed wetland. Id. Davids also argued that the 1.55 acres should be labeled as prior converted crop land due to manipulations made to the land prior to December 23, 1985. Id. Further, Davids argued that the NRCS erred because it did not consider whether the minimal effects exemption applied to the 2011 tiling project.² Id. On October 12, 2016, an administrative law judge ("ALJ") determined that the NRCS "erred when it did not complete a functional assessment nor otherwise consider[ ] whether [the Davids's] conversion of the 1.55-acre [s]ite had a minimal effect on the existing wetland functions in the watershed." AR at 353; Complaint at ¶ 22.

The NRCS sought review of the ALJ's decision to the Director of the NAD. See Complaint at ¶ 23. On May 17, 2017, the Director entered a Final Agency Decision reversing the ALJ's decision. AR at 389. The Director found that:

The record in this case shows that [the Davids's] completed excavation and tile installation in the fall of 2011 to improve drainage at the [s]ite; however, [the Davids's] did

...