Williams v. Vilsack

620 F.Supp.2d 40

Robert WILLIAMS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Tom VILSACK, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 03-2245 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

June 1, 2009.

Donna Williams Rucker, Joseph D. Gebhardt, Gebhardt & Associates, LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Paul A. Dean, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Programs Branchy, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Robert and LaVerne Williams allege that they were discriminated against on the basis of race by the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") when their application for a farm loan was denied in 2003. Defendant Ed Schafer, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (together with the United States and other government officials sued in their official capacities, "Defendants"), deny Plaintiffs' allegations and have filed the pending [223] Motion for Summary Judgment.¹ After a searching review of the parties' submissions, relevant case law, statutory authority, and the entire record of the case as a whole, the Court finds that there is no evidence in the record from which to find that Plaintiffs were subject to discrimination based on their race. Accordingly, the Court shall GRANT Defendants' [223] Motion for Summary Judgment, for the reasons that follow.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Statutory and Regulatory Background

This case involves the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, 7 U.S.C. § 1921 et seq., pursuant to which the Farm Service Agency ("FSA") is authorized to make loans to (1) eligible farmers who (2) propose plans of operation that are feasible. See 7 C.F.R. §§ 1910.5, 1941.12, 1941.33. With respect to this first requirement (eligibility), the FSA considers various enumerated criteria, including an inquiry into an applicant's credit history. 7 C.F.R. § 1910.5(b), (c). Pursuant to an instruction issued by the USDA, this inquiry includes an assessment of whether the applicant is "creditworthy" in the sense that he or she must not have provided false information in connection with the loan application:

Applicants ... will be determined not creditworthy if they have ever deliberately provided false information, intentionally omitted information relative to the loan decision, or have not made every reasonable effort to meet the terms and conditions of any previous loan.

Defs.' Reply, Ex. A at 2 (Instruction 1910-A(c)). With respect to the second requirement (a feasible plan), the FSA reviews the applicant's plan to assess whether the applicant will be able to:

(1) Pay all operating expenses and all taxes which are due during the projected farm budget period;

(2) Meet necessary payments on all debts; and

(3) Provide living expenses for the [applicant's] family members

7 C.F.R. § 1941.33(b), 1941.4. Only loans that comply with all established policies and regulations, including the requirement that "[t]he proposed loan is based on a feasible plan," are subject to approval. Id. § 1941.33(b).

B. Factual Background

The following material facts are based on undisputed evidence in the record.² Plaintiffs own a small cotton farm in Roscoe Texas. Defs.' Stmt. ¶ 1. In early 2003, Plaintiffs applied for a farm loan from the FSA. Id. ¶ 4. In connection with their loan application, Plaintiffs met with Robert Kalina, a Farm Loan Manager. Id. ¶¶ 4, 5. With Mr. Kalina's assistance, Plaintiffs submitted a complete loan application in March 2003. Id. ¶¶ 8, 12.

On April 4, 2003, Mr. Kalina and Plaintiffs developed a Farm and Home Plan (the "Plan") that would "cash flow," a term of art used to describe a feasible plan whereby an applicant is able to (1) pay all of his or her farm operating expenses and taxes, (2) meet necessary payments on debts, and (3) provide living expenses for family members. Id. ¶ 13. The Plan met these requirements by $152. Id.

As part of the loan application process, Mr. Kalina conducted an equipment inspection and appraisal of Plaintiffs' farm operation. Id. ¶ 15. Mr. Kalina observed several pieces of equipment on Plaintiffs' property that were not included in the Plan, including a "4650" tractor. Id. ¶ 15. Plaintiffs informed Mr. Kalina that this equipment, including the 4650 tractor, belonged to his neighbors. Id. Based on the Plan that Mr. Kalina and Plaintiffs created (and Plaintiffs' representations that the equipment visually observed by Mr. Kalina was not owned by them), the FSA initially approved two loans for Plaintiffs—a refinance loan of $23,500 for tractor repairs on a "4640" tractor, and an operating loan of $55,800. Id. ¶ 14. Problems arose almost immediately.

On April 15, 2003, Mr. Kalina spoke with Plaintiffs about obtaining the financing statement for their 4640 tractor. Id. ¶ 17. For the first time, Plaintiffs informed Mr. Kalina that the requested financing actually related to a 4650 tractor that they had recently purchased, which the Key Brothers Equipment store ("Key Brothers") could verify. Id. ¶ 17. When Mr. Kalina spoke with Key Brothers, he discovered that Plaintiffs owed $23,268 for repairs associated with the 4640 tractor, $24,000 associated with the 4650 tractor (including an outstanding payment of $5,610), and $22,275 for various other parts and repairs. Id. ¶¶ 19, 24. Key Brothers informed Mr. Kalina that approximately $38,280 was needed to bring Plaintiffs' account current. Id. ¶ 19. When Mr. Kalina asked Plaintiffs about the 4650 tractor, Plaintiffs explained that the 4650 tractor that Mr. Kalina previously observed, was an identical model owned by his neighbor, and that his 4650 tractor was located in a friend's barn at the time. Id. ¶ 20. Although the 4640 tractor had been contemplated by the Plan, the 4650 tractor and the additional debt for parts and repairs had not been disclosed by Plaintiffs and had not been known to the FSA when it initially approved Plaintiffs' loans. Id. ¶¶ 22-27.

Mr. Kalina successfully sought to set up a payment plan with Key Brothers to lower Plaintiffs' monthly payments and potentially allow a feasible Plan to be created. Id. ¶¶ 24-25, 28, 30. Despite these efforts, the 4650 tractor added $5,610 to Plaintiffs' debt, and the payment plan with Key Brothers added another $500 per month. Id. ¶ 31. These additional debts prevented the Plan from achieving cash flow by approximately $11,500. Id. ¶ 32. On April 22, 2003, Mr. Kalina met with Plaintiffs to discuss the Plan, and although they discussed ways in which Plaintiffs could increase their cash flow or reduce their operating expenses, none of their ideas resulted in the creation of a cash flow plan. Id. ¶¶ 33-35, 38.

On April 30, 2003, Larry Owens, the FSA's Texas Farm Loan Chief, rescinded the initial approval of Plaintiffs' loans. Id. ¶ 39. In a May 1, 2003 letter to Plaintiffs, Mr. Owens explained that the FSA had decided to deny Plaintiffs' loan application for two reasons. Id. ¶ 40. First, the FSA concluded that Plaintiffs were not "creditworthy" based on their failure to disclose debts in connection with the creation of their Plan:

As you know, a lien search revealed a previously undisclosed debt of $24,078.00 to John Deere Credit Corporation for a 4650 John Deere tractor. While verifying that debt, FSA discovered an additional $22,000 dollar debt owed to Key Brothers Equipment for farm equipment parts and repairs. Based upon this information, FSA has concluded that you are not eligible for loan assistance because you are not creditworthy as required by 7 C.F.R.1910.5, FmHA Instructions 1910-A, section 1910.5(c), [which] states in part that: `Applicants ... will be determined not creditworthy if they have ever deliberately provided false information, [or] intentionally omitted information relative to the loan decision.'

Defs.' Mot., Ex. 28 at 1 (5/1/08 Letter from L. Owens to Plaintiffs). Second, the FSA determined that Plaintiffs' additional debts prevented the Plan from remaining feasible:

Inclusion of the additional debt that was discovered during the pre-closing activity results in your plan of operation (cash flow projection) not being feasible ... The inclusion of the additional debts discovered by the agency in your Farm & Home Plan results in balance available in your plan lacking $11,458.00 to project a feasible plan.

Id. at 1-2.³

Dissatisfied with the FSA's handling of their loan application, Plaintiffs filed a complaint of discrimination through their attorney, Mr. James W. Myart. Id., Ex. 42 (10/27/03 Letter from C. Pearson to Plaintiffs). The Office of Civil Rights for the Department of Agriculture investigated Plaintiffs' complaint and found no discrimination. Id. Plaintiffs initiated this lawsuit on November 3, 2003.

C. Procedural Background

To suggest that this case has a tortured history is to dramatically understate the difficulties encountered during its prosecution (or lack thereof) by Plaintiffs. The Court shall not again recount these difficulties, as they have been exhaustively described by Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola and the undersigned Judge in previous Orders and Opinions. See, e.g., 498 F.Supp.2d 113 (D.D.C.2007) (describing the history of discovery abuses by Plaintiffs' counsel, including his failure to follow court orders, file required pleadings, cooperate with opposing counsel, and respond to or pursue appropriate discovery); 518 F.Supp.2d 205 (D.D.C.2007) (describing a misrepresentation made by Plaintiffs' counsel to the Court and the baseless reasons that he proffered for the numerous extensions of time that delayed resolution of this case). The Court shall incorporate these opinions by reference herein. For present purposes, the Court shall simply note three relevant points about the procedural history of this case.

First, the parties were afforded the opportunity to pursue discovery in this case from July 2005 through June 2007. Plaintiffs' efforts to take their own discovery were...