Kings County dairy farm owner and California's 21's District Rep. Congressman David Valadao and his family are being sued by Rabobank according to court documents.
Documents show that Rabobank, an agriculture lender, sued Triple V Dairy in Fresno County Superior Court in November of 2017, alleging failure to repay loans totaling in a little over $8.4 million for the upkeep of his farm.
The Republican congressman is named in the suit along with his wife, four other family members two other farms and a number of other parties as well.
Valadao's family farm has been seized as part of this lawsuit. Rabobank appointed John Van Curen as the “receiver” of the property, Triple V Dairy. Documents show that Van Curen took control of Triple V Dairy on March 28, 2018. Van Curen will have control of the farm until it sells.
23ABC reached out to Rep. Valadao for a statement and he said, "Like so many family dairy farms across the country, burdensome government regulations made it impossible for the operation to remain open. While this has been an especially difficult experience, I remain hopeful that sharing my story will help those going through similar situations. This is exactly why I ran for Congress – to give agriculture communities across the nation a voice in Washington.”
According to a Los Angeles Times article from earlier this year, Valadao is the poorest member of Congress.
The next court hearing is scheduled for July 16, 2018.
Valadao is currently seeking another term representing the 21st Congressional District, which stretches across rural portions of Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties.
