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Peanut Insurance Case |
For decades, Peanut Farmers were provided a price support
system to protect the Farmers from violent swings in prices.
Farmers also could obtain crop insurance to insure against
different perils including adverse weather conditions. Prior
to 2002, each year for the past six (6) years, Farmers would
begin contract negotiations in the preceding year before
planting their crops. Relying in part on insurance coverage,
Peanut Farmers entered into leases, bank loan agreements, and
other contracts with third parties after the Government and
insurance companies had announced not only the quota amount of
peanuts that could be produced, but also the amount of
insurance coverage. For the previous six (6) years and 2002,
the Government, by contract, agreed that the Farmers would
receive insurance coverage at the maximum rate of $.31 per
pound.
The deadline for making changes to the insurance contract
ended in February and March, 2002. In some areas, planting
began in March. Farmers were still operating under the
assumption they would have coverage for at least $.31 per
pound.
On or about May 13, 2002, after all the key contract dates had
passed and after all Farmers had begun planting their peanut
crops, a Farm Bill was passed which significantly reduced
coverage for the 2002 crop year. As part of that bill,
Congress adjusted the crop insurance policy from $.31 per
pound to $.1775 per pound. They justified this adjustment
under the procedures issued by the Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation (FCIC).
Boyce & Isley, PLLC filed federal lawsuits in seven (7) states
seeking recovery of insurance coverage at $.31 per pound for
Farmers who suffered peanut crop losses for the 2002 crop
year. The Honorable Judge Malcolm Howard issued an order,
granting summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs and
denied the Government's Motion for Summary Judgment. Judge
Howard also certified the case a class action case and
expanded the number of Plaintiffs in North Carolina from 274
to 734 Plaintiffs. Judge Howard
also issued an order setting the formula for calculation of
damages for each class member (peanut farmers in the Eastern
District of North Carolina.
On October 26, 2004, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict
Litigation (JPML) ordered that the federal lawsuits filed in
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia
be transferred for pretrial purposes to North Carolina. The
law firm of Boyce & Isley, PLLC has filed a Motion for Summary
Judgment on behalf of Plaintiffs in the other six (6) states
and requested class certification for those cases.
Judge Howard
granted summary judgment, class certification and issued an
order for calculation of damages for farmers in the other six
federal districts. Boyce & Isley, PLLC, as class counsel, has
requested that the Court expand the class certification or
transfer certain cases to different districts to cover certain
farmers who are clients and who had signed on to the complaint
which was filed in a federal district different from where
some of the farmers had farmed the peanuts in 2002. Class
counsel have also asked Judge Howard to grant National Class
Certification for all peanut farmers who suffered a loss due
to the breach in the insurance contract. Judge Howard has not
ruled on the request to transfer or expand the definition or
the Motion for National Class Certification.
Thus far, Class Notice has been sent to North Carolina
Farmers. Class Notice
for other farmers in certain federal districts is being sent
in May, 2005. The documents listed below are available in PDF
format.
(1) Judge Howard's Order granting summary judgment and class
certification;
(2) Class Notice to North Carolina Peanut Farmers and farmers
in certain districts;
(3) Order transferring other cases to North Carolina for
pretrial purposes; and
(4) Frequently Asked Questions
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