Central Valley Ag v. United States

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

CENTRAL VALLEY AG ENTERPRISES,  No. 05-16177 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. v.  CV-03-06366-AWI

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, (SMS)

Defendant-Appellee.  OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California Anthony W. Ishii, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted March 13, 2007—San Francisco, California

Filed June 25, 2008

Before: Melvin Brunetti, William A. Fletcher, and Carlos T. Bea, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Brunetti

7353 7356 CENTRAL VALLEY v. UNITED STATES

COUNSEL

Scott M. Reddie, Hilton A. Ryder and Todd W. Baxter, McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth LLP, Fresno, California; and Myron L. Frans and Walter A. Pick- hardt, Faegre & Benson LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the plaintiff-appellant.

Thomas J. Clark, Gilbert S. Rothenberg and Michelle B. O’Connor, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Wash- ington, D.C., for the defendant-appellee.

OPINION

BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge:

This bankruptcy appeal involves the intersection of 11 U.S.C. § 505(a) of…