United States v. Citrus Valley Farms, Inc.

This appeal is from judgment awarding compensation for the taking of land by condemnation. At issue is the manner of fixing the value of cotton allotments which the land enjoyed at the time of the Government’s taking.

The land condemned consisted of a 2200-2300 acre farm (with some 1500 acres under cultivation), located in Citrus Valley, Arizona. The owners, at the time of the taking, were using the farm for the raising of cotton under a 550-acre cotton allotment made pursuant to the terms of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, 7 U.S.C. § 1341 et seq.

The Government in its brief summarizes the purpose and operation of the Act as follows:

Under the Act the allotment or quota apportionment to a particular tract of land attaches to that land and, except in unusual circumstances, cannot be transferred apart from it. By 7 U.S.C. § 1378 (a), 1 severance of the allotment from the *685 land is provided for where the land is taken by condemnation. The owner of the condemned farm may, under the specified conditions, transfer the allotment to other lands.

At the trial there was no more than the usual spread between the testimony of Government experts and those of the owner as to the value…

(concurring in the result).

The majority holds that whether a cotton allotment not taken in condemnation has value depends upon the facts of each case. The majority, here, finds that the evidence supports the jury’s verdict of $1,025,000.00 and the jury’s finding that the 550-acre cotton allotment was valueless.

While it seems clear from the evidence in this case that by growing cotton for several years upon the land in question, the value of the land was enhanced, the question of whether or not a cotton allotment considered apart from the land has value presents a difficult problem. However, for the reasons hereafter set forth, *688 I see no need, to decide whether or not the cotton allotment, after severance, has value.

The majority quotes from the Government’s brief, in part, as follows:

Congress did not wish the taking of land by condemnation to either diminish total acreage allotted or to force the farmer out of business. To avoid these results, Congress provided the remedy set forth in Section 1378 of Title 7, United States Code.

I find no language in Section 1378 that indicates the intent of Congress that the increased value to the taken land, resulting from its proven…

350 F.2d 683 UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. CITRUS VALLEY FARMS, INC., Appellee. No. 19657. United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit. Aug. 17, 1965. J. Edward Williams, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Roger P. Marquis, Edmund B. Clark, Attys., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., William P. Copple, U.S. Atty., Phoenix, Ariz., for appellant. J. Gordon Cook, McKesson, Renaud, Cook & Miller, Phoenix, Ariz., for appellee. Before MERRILL and BROWNING, Circuit Judges, and FOLEY, District judge. MERRILL, Circuit Judge. 1 This appeal is from judgment awarding compensation for the taking of land by condemnation. At issue is the manner of fixing the value of cotton allotments which the land enjoyed at the time of the Government's taking. 2 The land condemned consisted of a 2200-2300 acre farm (with some 1500 acres under cultivation), located in Citrus Valley, Arizona. The owners, at the time of the taking, were using the farm for the raising of cotton under a 550-acre cotton allotment made pursuant to the terms of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, 7 U.S.C. 1341 et seq. 3 The Government in its brief summarizes the purpose and operation of the Act as follows: 4 'In order to prevent…