Green v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 27 February 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 2:97-CV-180.,2:97-CV-180. |
| Citation | 8 F.Supp.2d 983 |
| Parties | Andrew GREEN and Janice Green, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES of America, through its Department of Agriculture and Farm Services Agency, Donald Hare, individually, Lou Anne Kling, individually, Mike Hinton, individually, Louise Partridge, individually, Jerry Rosenquist, individually, and Debra Spike, individually, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
W. Francesca Ferguson, Asst. U.S. Attorney, Michael H. Dettmer, United States Attorney, Grand Rapids, MI, for United States of America, Department of Agriculture and Farm Services Agency.
W. Francesca Ferguson, Asst. U.S. Attorney, Grand Rapids, MI, for Donald Hare, Lou Anne Kling, Mike Hinton, Louise Partridge, Jerry Rosenquist, Debra Spike.
Plaintiffs Andrew Green and Janice Green ("Greens") filed this action against the United States of America and several individual employees of the Farm Services Agency ("FSA") after Defendants used limited loan funds allocated to the State of Michigan to fund another applicant's loan prior to funding the Greens' loan. In their ten-count complaint, the Greens allege various tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680, claims for deprivation of their rights under the Federal Constitution, a claim for review of the FSA's actions under the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, and a claim under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Now before the Court is Defendants' motion to dismiss, or alternatively, for summary judgment.
On February 22, 1994, the Greens submitted their application on Form FmHA 410-1 to FSA for a direct farm ownership loan in the amount of $121,200 to finance the purchase of a farm from Charles Wallis ("Wallis"). The Greens' completed loan application was filed on March 14, 1994, and was approved by Jerry Rosenquist ("Rosenquist"), the Chippewa County Supervisor for Michigan FSA, on April 20, 1994. On the date of approval, the Greens signed Form FmHA 1940-1, captioned "Request for Obligation of Funds," which stated that their loan application was approved and that the loan was approved "subject to the availability of funds and other conditions required by the Farmers Home Administration." (Defs.' Mem. Supp. Mot. Ex. 2.)
Initially, the FSA informed the Greens that the loan might be funded through inclusion in a "pool" in the spring or summer of 1994, but the loan was not funded as indicated. Subsequently, Rosenquist advised the Greens and Wallis that there were no funds available to fund the Greens' loan in the 1994 fiscal year but assured them that they were first on the funding list and that their loan would be funded at the beginning of the next fiscal year. Based upon these representations, Wallis permitted the Greens to move onto the farm in July of 1994, prior to closing, and the Greens made substantial repairs and improvements to the farm in order to prepare it for cattle.
On November 9, 1994, Rosenquist informed the Greens and Wallis by letter that Michigan had received $95,000 in farmer program loan funds, one-half of its total allocation for fiscal year 1995 of $190,000, but indicated that the balance of the funds would not be provided until after January 1, 1995. However, on November 17, 1994, the Michigan FSA used the 1995 funding allocation to fund a loan in the amount of $198,000 to another borrower, Philip Morawski, whose application had been received by the FSA prior to the Greens' application, on March 22, 1993. The decision to fund the Morawski loan was made by Lou Anne Kling ("Kling"), Acting Deputy Administrator of the FSA National Office, who determined that the Michigan office was improperly funding loans based upon the order in which the application process was completed, rather than upon the order in which the application was received as required by applicable regulations.1 Kling advised the Greens of the reasons supporting the decision to fund the Morawski loan by letter dated December 23, 1994. Kling also informed the Greens that they could not appeal the FSA's decision not to fund their loan because their request for assistance had been approved subject to availability of funds rather than denied. (Defs.' Mem. Supp. Mot. Ex. at 0055-56.)
In spite of Kling's determination, the Greens appealed both the FSA's decision not to fund their loan and Kling's determination that the Greens were not entitled to appeal the funding decision to the Department of Agriculture National Appeals Division ("NAD"). On March 14, 1995, a hearing officer issued a written decision which upheld FSA's decision to fund the Morawski loan. The Greens also appealed that decision, which was affirmed by the Acting Director for NAD on July 7, 1995.
Rosenquist assisted the Greens in obtaining alternate financing that consisted of a direct FSA loan and a FSA guaranteed loan through Farm Credit Services to meet the Greens' closing requirements. Their loan was at a higher interest rate and payable over a shorter term than the FSA loan would have been. However, because of their urgent need for the funds, the Greens decided to accept the loan package. On February 19, 1997, Debra L. Spike ("Spike"), Acting FSA State Executive Director, informed the Greens that a review of their case file indicated that their credit needs had been met through a combination of direct and guaranteed financing and that the FSA was not holding any loan application open.
On February 6, 1997, the Greens made a request under FOIA to FSA for a copy of direct loan funding lists from March 1994 through the date of the request. Spike responded by letter dated February 18, 1997, stating that the lists dated prior to 1997 were unavailable and enclosing the list of approved current applicants with the names of the borrowers and amounts deleted pursuant to FOIA exception. On March 14, 1997, the Greens' attorney sent a notice of appeal of the partial denial of the FOIA response and the decision to close the Greens' file to the FSA Administrator and to the NAD. The NAD responded by letter dated March 20, 1997, stating that it was only acting on the issue of the decision to close the Greens' application without notification because it did not have jurisdiction over the FOIA request appeal. It appears that the FSA Administrator never responded to the Greens' FOIA appeal and that the NAD never reviewed the decision to close the Greens' loan application file, although the filing of this lawsuit may have preempted review by the NAD.
Defendants bring the present motion as a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and as a motion for summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. Both parties have submitted matters outside of the pleadings for consideration by the Court in resolving the motion. Therefore, the Court will treat the motion as a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b).
Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. The rule requires that the disputed facts be material. Material facts are facts which are defined by substantive law and are necessary to apply the law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute over trivial facts which are not necessary in order to apply the substantive law does not prevent the granting of a motion for summary judgment. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The rule also requires the dispute to be genuine. A dispute is genuine if a reasonable jury could return judgment for the non-moving party. Id. This standard requires the non-moving party to present more than a scintilla of evidence to defeat the motion. Id. at 251, 106 S.Ct. at 2511 ).
A moving party who does not have the burden of proof at trial may properly support a motion for summary judgment by showing the court that there is no evidence to support the non-moving party's case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553-54, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the motion is so supported, the party opposing the motion must then demonstrate with "concrete evidence" that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Id.; Frank v. D'Ambrosi, 4 F.3d 1378, 1384 (6th Cir.1993). The court must draw all inferences in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, but may grant summary judgment when "the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party." Agristor Financial Corp. v. Van Sickle, 967 F.2d 233, 236 (6th Cir.1992)(quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).
The claims asserted by the Greens in their complaint essentially focus on the following conduct by Defendants: (i) the decision to fund the Morawski loan prior to the Greens' loan; (ii) the FSA's determination that the Greens could not appeal the decision to fund the Morawski loan; and (iii) the decision to close the Greens' loan application without prior notice. Defendants contend that they are entitled to dismissal of or summary judgment on the tort claims because those claims are barred under exceptions to the limited waiver of sovereign immunity set forth in 28 U.S.C. §§ 2680(a) and 2680(h) and because some or all of those claims fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Defendants also contend that they are entitled to dismissal of the Greens' constitutional claims...
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...(sustaining exemption claim in part, requiring further explanation in part); Green v. United States ex rel. Department of Agric. , 8 F. Supp. 2d 983, 997-98 (W.D. Mich. 1998) (sustaining exemption claim); Ligorner v. Reno , 2 F. Supp. 2d 400, 405 (S.D.N.Y. 1998); Whitehouse v. United States......
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...(sustaining exemption claim in part, requiring further explanation in part); Green v. United States ex rel. Department of Agric. , 8 F. Supp. 2d 983, 997-98 (W.D. Mich. 1998) (sustaining exemption claim); Ligorner v. Reno , 2 F. Supp. 2d 400, 405 (S.D.N.Y. 1998); Whitehouse v. United States......
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...(sustaining exemption claim in part, requiring further explanation in part); Green v. United States ex rel. Department of Agric. , 8 F. Supp. 2d 983, 997-98 (W.D. Mich. 1998) (sustaining exemption claim); Ligorner v. Reno , 2 F. Supp. 2d 400, 405 (S.D.N.Y. 1998); Whitehouse v. United States......