Preemption: Federal Crop Insurance Act Requires Ranchers To Obtain Determination From Federal Crop Insurance Corporation To Seek Extra-Contractual Damages, Fees, Or Expenses

Case Demonstrates How Agricultural Cases Are Subject To Governmental Regulations.

            Although not directly involving an attorney’s fees or costs issue, we still post on Sunset Ranches, Inc. v. NAU Country Ins. Co., Case No. F078916 (5^th Dist. Aug. 16, 2021) (unpublished) because it shows how agricultural litigation disputes may face federal preemption principles.  In this one, the dispute concerned a cherry orchard rancher’s insurance claim under the Federal Crops Insurance Act which was properly ordered to arbitration.  The rancher’s extra-contractual claims got bounced by virtue of Federal Crop Insurance Corporation regulations which required an initial determination that it could recover damages, fees, or other expenses in court, a determination never obtained by the rancher.  The Fifth District affirmed, recognizing that preemption did apply to attempts to obtain fees and costs under this very specific statutory/regulatory scheme.  (Wanamaker Nursery, Inc. v. John Deere Risk Protection, Inc., 364 F.Supp.3d 839, 848-849 (E.D. Tenn. 2019).)