United States Ninth Circuit

In a due process suit by farm businesses against the Secretary of Agriculture for taking pro-rata shares of contractual payments owed to them without notice, plaintiffs' failure to attempt exhaustion of their administrative remedies did not deprive the district court of jurisdiction, and any such attempts would be futile where plaintiffs allege collateral, colorable constitutional claims.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/13/2002
• Decided 04/19/2002
• Published 04/19/2002

Judges

• DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judge., Before: THOMPSON, W. FLETCHER, and BERZON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Merinda K. Condra and Gary D. Condra, Condra & Condra, Lubbock, TX, for the appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Sushma Soni, Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the appellee.