Rancher Alleges SD Livestock Brand Board, Auction Stole Sales Proceeds for ‘Kickbacks’

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A proposed class action has been filed in South Dakota against the state’s Brand Board, its inspector, and Philip Livestock Auction and its owner alleging the parties have illegally, unconstitutionally and without due-process taken more than $59,400 from livestock producers. The 15-page complaint, filed on behalf of Pine Ridge Reservation cattle ranchers who bring livestock to Philip Livestock Auction for sale, cites alleged violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

The plaintiff, a large feeder and rancher who the case says bought and sold more than $10 million worth of cattle last year, argues the laws and regulations of the South Dakota Brand Board do not apply “on or coming off” the Pine Ridge Reservation since the state had ceded the land to Native American tribes when South Dakota was admitted to the Union in 1889. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff delivered 47 yearlings— year- or two-year-old cattle—to the defendants on July 25, 2017 that were branded with the man’s “Bar Mill Iron” brand on their left shoulders, ribs, and hips. These yearlings were allegedly sold to a buyer for $60,297.68, but the plaintiff says he has not received payment for the livestock.

The lawsuit alleges Philip Livestock Auction and the South Dakota brand board’s inspector conspired to confiscate the plaintiff’s net receipt from the sale, totaling $59,420.36, without probable cause. The case continues that the alleged scheme was put into motion when, on July 25, the inspector defendant allegedly signed off on a note “under the guise of South Dakota conspiring with [Philip Livestock] to confiscate and/or steal” the plaintiff’s earnings from the sale.