Case: Butterbee Farm v. United States Department of Agriculture

1:25-cv-00737 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: March 13, 2025

Case Ongoing

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

(This summary is temporary, while we research the case.) On March 13, 2025, a group of farms and environmental and farming nonprofits filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. They named President Donald Trump, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Office of Management and Budget, and their corresponding agency heads as Defendants. The Plaintiffs had all received funding appropriated by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act, and they challenged the Trump administration's freezing of these funds. They alleged that the freezing of funds violated the Separation of Powers, the Take Care Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Summary Authors

Oliver Farnum (4/9/2025)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69733481/parties/butterbee-farm-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture/


Attorney for Plaintiff

Apfel, Carrie F. (District of Columbia)

Prothero, Mary (District of Columbia)

Tumeh, Deena (District of Columbia)

Vizcarra, Hana Veselka (District of Columbia)

show all people

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document
1

1:25-cv-00737

Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

Complaint

Resources

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69733481/butterbee-farm-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture/

Last updated April 21, 2025, 9:46 p.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
1

COMPLAINT against BUTTERBEE FARM ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-11539160) filed by BUTTERBEE FARM. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6, # 7 Civil Cover Sheet, # 8 Summons, # 9 Summons, # 10 Summons, # 11 Summons, # 12 Summons, # 13 Summons, # 14 Summons)(Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 03/13/2025)

1 Exhibit 1

View on RECAP

2 Exhibit 2

View on RECAP

3 Exhibit 3

View on RECAP

4 Exhibit 4

View on RECAP

5 Exhibit 5

View on RECAP

6 Exhibit 6

View on RECAP

7 Civil Cover Sheet

View on PACER

8 Summons

View on PACER

9 Summons

View on PACER

10 Summons

View on PACER

11 Summons

View on PACER

12 Summons

View on PACER

13 Summons

View on PACER

14 Summons

View on PACER

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

Clearinghouse

Case Assigned/Reassigned

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER
2

LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by BUTTERBEE FARM (Attachments: # 1 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure, # 2 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure, # 3 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure, # 4 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure, # 5 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure, # 6 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure, # 7 26.1 Certificate of Disclosure)(Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 03/13/2025)

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER
3

SEALED DOCUMENT filed by BUTTERBEE FARM re 1 Complaint, (This document is SEALED and only available to authorized persons.)(Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 03/13/2025)

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER
4

MOTION for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice :Attorney Name- Mary Prothero, Filing fee $ 100, receipt number ADCDC-11540006. Fee Status: Fee Paid. by CULTIVATE KC, FAITH IN PLACE, GREENLATINOS, HENDRIX FARM, ONE ACRE FARM, RED FIRE FARM, TWO BOOTS FARM, BUTTERBEE FARM. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration, # 2 Certificate of Good Standing, # 3 Text of Proposed Order)(Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 03/13/2025)

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER

Case Assigned to Judge Rudolph Contreras. (zmtm)

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER
5

SUMMONS (7) Issued Electronically as to All Defendants, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zmtm) (Entered: 03/13/2025)

1 Notice and Consent

View on PACER

March 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

PACER

MINUTE ORDER granting 4 Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice: Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.2, it is hereby ORDERED that Mary Prothero is admitted to represent Plaintiffs pro hac vice in this case. Counsel should register for e-filing via PACER and file a notice of appearance pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.6(a). Click for instructions. SO ORDERED. Signed by Judge Rudolph Contreras on 03/14/2025. (lcrc2)

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER

Order on Motion for Leave to Appear Pro Hac Vice

March 14, 2025

March 14, 2025

PACER
6

NOTICE of Appearance by Mary Prothero on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Prothero, Mary) (Entered: 03/17/2025)

March 17, 2025

March 17, 2025

PACER
7

NOTICE of Appearance by Deena Tumeh on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Tumeh, Deena) (Entered: 03/24/2025)

March 24, 2025

March 24, 2025

PACER
8

NOTICE of Appearance by Carrie F. Apfel on behalf of All Plaintiffs (Apfel, Carrie) (Entered: 03/24/2025)

March 24, 2025

March 24, 2025

PACER
9

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. BROOKE L. ROLLINS served on 3/20/2025 (Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 03/28/2025)

March 28, 2025

March 28, 2025

PACER
10

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed as to the United States Attorney. Date of Service Upon United States Attorney on 3/21/2025. Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 5/20/2025. (Vizcarra, Hana) (Main Document 10 replaced on 4/1/2025) (znmw). (Entered: 04/01/2025)

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

PACER
11

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE served on 3/26/2025 (Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 04/01/2025)

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

PACER
12

RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint Executed. RUSSELL VOUGHT served on 3/25/2025 (Vizcarra, Hana) (Entered: 04/15/2025)

April 15, 2025

April 15, 2025

PACER

Case Details

State / Territory: District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Presidential/Gubernatorial Authority

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government (Spending Freezes/Cuts)

Key Dates

Filing Date: March 13, 2025

Case Ongoing: Yes

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Plaintiffs are farmers and non-profit organizations that received USDA grants.

Attorney Organizations:

Earthjustice

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

United States Department of Agriculture (Washington, D.C., District of Columbia), Federal

Office of Management and Budget (Washington, D.C., District of Columbia), Federal

Donald J. Trump (in his official capacity) (Washington, D.C., District of Columbia), Federal

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.

Constitutional Clause(s):

Separation of Powers

Take Care Clause

Available Documents:

Trial Court Docket

Complaint (any)

Outcome

Prevailing Party: None Yet / None

Nature of Relief:

None yet

Source of Relief:

None yet

Issues

General/Misc.:

Public assistance grants