Black Farmers Not Included in Settlement Denied Reconsideration

A federal court in Washington, D.C., has reportedly refused to reconsider its
denial of hundreds of claims by African-American farmers who alleged that
they were owed a share of the $1.25-billion settlement fund established to
compensate a class of farmers allegedly discriminated against by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) loan application process. In re Black
Farmers Discrimination Litig., No. 08-0511 (D.D.C., order entered
March 5, 2014). Information about the lawsuit and a dispute over attorney’s
fees appears in Issue 490 of this Update.

According to a news source, the court determined that it lacked authority
to alter the terms of the settlement agreement, which provided that claims
determinations would be considered final and not subject to court review.
“This may be cold comfort to claimants who feel that their claims were denied
in error; but without the Settlement Agreement, the amount of relief attainable
by members of the plaintiff class would have been less than ten percent
of what has actually been made available to the class under the settlement,”
the court said. Many non-prevailing claimants reportedly alleged that their
claims were wrongfully denied on the grounds that they failed to timely
complain about discrimination or failed to apply for USDA assistance within
the relevant time period. See The National Law Journal, March 6, 2014.