Dixie Plantation Co. v. Duncan
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal by Dixie Plantation Company from the judgment of the District Court affirming, with slight modification,
The establishment of the 1.37 acre allotment by the ASC Committee was the final step in a complicated series of events beginning in September 1960, when Eastland Park, Inc. conveyed to S & M Land Company (a company directed by the same individuals as plaintiff Dixie) a farm on Hume Road (hereinafter “Hume farm”) in Fayette County, Kentucky. In 1960 and 1961, S & M conveyed portions of the Hume farm to parties not involved in this litigation. By complying with the relevant regulations of the Department of Agriculture,
In April, 1964, the Kentucky State ASC Committee determined that the transfer of the Hume farm allotment as just described was in violation of Department of Agriculture regulations, and the combination of the Hume farm allotment with the other Davis and McEachin holdings was dissolved. The county ASC committee returned the Hume farm allotment to that farm, and simultaneously retired the allotment because S & M, upon conveying the Hume farm to Dixie in 1962, had filed an Amendment 10
The allotment applicable to the Hume farm in 1962, when the farm consisted of 152.2 acres of farmland and 151.2 acres of cropland, had been 10.42 acres. The county committee determined that on March 27, 1962, the Kentucky Highway Department had acquired 37.8 acres of farmland and 37.6 acres of cropland by eminent domain, and that, since Dixie had not requested that the allotment for this land be returned to it within the three years required by regulation,
The decision of the county committee was adopted by the review committee and affirmed by the District Court, which made findings of fact and conclusions of law. (The review committee, in addition to adopting the acreage determination of the county committee, had refused Dixie’s request to combine the Hume farm with property known as the Writt tract which had been acquired by Dixie.) Two questions are properly before this court: (1) Are the findings of the review committee supported by substantial evidence? (2) Did the District Court properly refuse to
One of Dixie’s claims of error is that the eminent domain proceedings occurred later than the date found by the county committee. Dixie raised no objection at the hearing before the review committee to the March 27, 1962, date, and indeed waived its right to a continuance so that it could obtain additional information. We cannot say that there was no evidence to support the finding of the review committee that the land was taken on March 27, 1962, and we therefore cannot disturb its conclusion that no timely request had been made to regain the allotment applicable to the land taken by the state.
7 U.S.C. § 1366 sets forth the standards to be applied by the District Court in deciding a request for remand for additional evidence. The evidence must be material and reasonable grounds for failure to have adduced it before the review committee must be found. Here, the District Court correctly found that neither test had been met. Dixie sought a remand so that it might introduce evidence, principally a deed, indicating that the eminent domain proceedings found to have taken place in March, 1962 actually took place at a later date. As noted previously, Dixie, at the time of the review committee hearing, waived its right to a continuance so that it might obtain additional information. Moreover, if the eminent domain proceedings took place in March, 1963 — the date of the deed— Dixie would be in no better position to regain the acreage dropped as a result of those proceedings. A regulation which became effective July 27, 1962,
The judgment of the District Court is affirmed.
. The District Court, although agreeing with the Review Committee that 1.37 acres was a proper allotment for 1965, found that Dixie had been notified on April 5, 1965, that the allotment would be 3.29 acres, and that Dixie had planted its crop prior to being notified on May 24, 1965, that a revised allotment of 1.37 acres had been established. The court therefore held that the 3.29 acre allotment should be used for 1965.
. 7 C.F.R. § 719.6(b) (1).
. 7 C.F.R. § 719.6(b) (1).
. 7 C.F.R. § 719.12(f) (1).
. 7 C.F.R. § 719.6(b) (2) (i).
. Dixie, both in its brief and on oral argument, contended that the District Court erred in its first finding of fact, where it was found that “a 1965 burley tobacco allotment of 2.59 acres” was properly dropped because of the 1962 eminent domain proceedings. The government concedes that a 2.59 acre allotment in 1962 was equivalent to a 2.1 acre allotment in 1965, and that the statement of the District Court was therefore erroneous. In its fourth finding of fact, however, the District Court correctly stated the final allotment to be 1.37 acres; hence the erroneous statement in the first finding resulted in no prejudice to Dixie.
. Now 7 C.F.R. § 719.11 (j).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DIXIE PLANTATION COMPANY, Inc. v. J. R. DUNCAN, Stratton Stinnett, and Roy C. Galloway, Members of the Review Committee, and the Review Committee, Composed of J. R. Duncan, Stratton Stinnett, and Roy C. Galloway
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published