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- Title
THE MERRILL DOCTRINE AND FEDERALLY REINSURED CROP INSURERS.
- Authors
MARZEN, CHAD G.
- Abstract
Since 1947, the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. v. Merrill decision has operated to bar claims of equitable estoppel against agents of the federal government. However, the applicability of the Merrill doctrine to the equitable estoppel and waiver claims of insureds against federally reinsured private crop insurers is unclear. There is a split of authority on this significant issue, and it remains largely unresolved in numerous jurisdictions. An early trend developed where the courts applied the Merrill doctrine to alleged misrepresentations of agents of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation ("FCIC") as well as the agents of private insurers. In the early to mid-2000s, the decisions of three state courts--Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee--declined to extend the shield of the Merill doctrine to federally reinsured private crop insurers. Most recently, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in the Skymont Farms v. Federal Crop Insurance Corp. decision, revived life into Merill and held it applied involving a federally reinsured crop insurance policy. This article recommends a rule that could balance both the interests of farmer insureds and federally reinsured private crop insurers in future cases involving the Merrill doctrine. It proposes that (1) a heavy presumption against the application of Merrill to federally reinsured private crop insurers be followed, and (2) that Merrill only apply when a federally reinsured private crop insurer makes a "clear and convincing" evidentiary showing that the farmer insured failed to adequately investigate the provisions concerning a crop insurance policy, or that Merrill only apply when there is a "clear and convincing" evidentiary showing that the insured made a fraudulent misrepresentation on an application for insurance.
- Subjects
FEDERAL Crop Insurance Corp.; EQUITABLE estoppel lawsuits; WAIVER; CROP insurance; EVIDENTIARY hearings; UNITED States. District Court (Tennessee : Eastern District); STATE courts; GOVERNMENT policy; ACTIONS &; defenses (Law)
- Publication
North Dakota Law Review, 2013, Vol 89, Issue 4, p585
- ISSN
0029-2745
- Publication type
Article