Court Opinion

ID: 9482867
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 09:03:22.225423+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:49:15.608533
License: Public Domain

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
If this were a civil rights case, and we were applying 42 U.S.C. § 1988, I would not hesitate to agree with the majority that Robinson Farms was a “prevailing party” entitled to attorney’s fees. But we are not. Instead, we are applying 7 U.S.C. § 499g(c), which mandates attorney’s fees only for prevailing appellees.
The only factual dispute between the parties was whether Tropic accepted the cantaloupes on consignment. Robinson Farms persuaded the Secretary of Agriculture that Tropic bought the cantaloupes outright, and on that theory, Robinson Farms was entitled to $3,030. Tropic appealed, and the District Court held that Tropic had accepted the fruit on consignment (or at least that Robinson Farms failed to prove otherwise). Under this view of the facts, Tropic owed only $721.60. Robinson Farms may have won the litigation, but the outcome of the appeal can only be characterized as a loss. Since Robinson Farms was not a prevailing appellee, I do not believe that it is entitled to attorney’s fees under the statute. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.