Cotton
Cotton v. Veneman
Opinion
Lead Opinion
ORDER *
The appellants, McBride Cotton and Cattle Corp., et al. (collectively “McBride”), challenge summary judgment in favor of the appellee, the Secretary of Agriculture (“the Secretary”), on McBride’s administrative and constitutional claims. The Secretary now questions whether this Court has subject matter jurisdiction over these claims, suggesting we should transfer the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1631 . A party may raise challenges to jurisdiction at any time during the proceedings. May Dep’t Store v. Graphic Process Co., 637 F.2d 1211, 1216 (9th Cir.1980).
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) may waive sovereign immunity for challenges to agency actions in district court. See 5 U.S.C. § 702 . However, section 704 of the APA “excludes from the APA’s sovereign immunity waiver those claims for which adequate remedies are elsewhere available.” Consol. Edison Co. v. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, 247 F.3d 1378, 1383 (Fed.Cir.2001) (citing 5 U.S.C. § 704 ).
McBride claims that payments due to them under various agricultural program contracts were wrongfully reduced *91 through unauthorized administrative offsets, that the unauthorized practice must cease, and that they have the right to…