Tom Winchell v. United States Department of Agriculture

Tom Winchell is a Montana farmer who entered into contracts with the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), all of which are operated under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture. After various problems developed, he brought an action against all of these entities (sometimes referred to as appellees) under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-80 . He asserted that the appel-lees had breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The district court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because, as it found, Winchell only had a contract claim over which the court had no jurisdiction. Winchell appealed and argues that he spelled out a tortious breach of the covenant of good faith. We disagree and affirm.

BACKGROUND FACTS

Winchell, in common with many others, encountered financial difficulties when hard times and bad weather afflicted the farmers of Montana. He attempted to rescue himself by turning to a number of governmental agencies for help. Between June of 1980 and January of 1981 he borrowed about $560,000 from FmHA. ■ In the latter…