Appeals Court Dismisses Nebraska Crop Insurance Company’s Lawsuit

A federal appeals court has dismissed the remaining portions of a lawsuit filed by a Nebraska crop insurance company against the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.

American Growers Insurance Co. filed a lawsuit against FCIC in November 2001 in U.S District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The suit sought damages for breach of contract and alleged violations of federal law.

The Iowa court awarded $950,000 to the insurance company, concluding that the FCIC denied the company premiums it should have collected. The court dismissed some of the allegations while others were appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The appeals court said on July 15 that the federal law in question permits a producer to sue an insurance company to recover a claim for loss but not for an insurance company to sue the FCIC.

The court says the remaining portions of the lawsuit should have been dismissed at the federal district court level in Iowa.

American Growers Insurance was declared insolvent in 2005 and liquidated.

It was owned by Acceptance Insurance Companies Inc. of Council Bluffs.