Corona Livestock Auction, Inc. v. United States Department of Agriculture and the Packers and Stockyards Administration

Corona Livestock Auction, Inc. (Corona) petitions for review of a cease and desist order entered against it by the judicial officer on behalf of the Secretary of Agricul ture. At issue is Corona’s unique method of selling culled dairy cows for slaughter, which the Secretary claims violates sections 304, 307, and 312(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, as amended, 7 U.S.C. §§ 205 , 208, and 213(a) (1970) (the Act), and 9 C.F.R. § 201.58 . An administrative law judge found in favor of Corona but on review, the judicial officer, after requesting additional evidence, entered a cease and desist order. Because we conclude that the judicial officer’s findings are not supported by substantial evidence, we grant the petition for review and reverse his decision.

I

Corona is both a registered market agency and dealer regulated under the Act. During the period in question it sold slaughter cows through Stanley, its president, general manager, and half-owner. The judicial officer found that Stanley would weigh and set a price for each animal, “based on his own judgment of a proper or fair value of the animal.” The judicial officer’s findings of fact further described Corona’s…