Black Farmers’ Credit Bias Claim Tossed From USDA Settlement

Estates of black male farmers that submitted claims in connection with a USDA civil rights settlement can’t allege discrimination in how the administrator processed them, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held.

The USDA entered into the settlement in Pigford v. Glickman in 1999 to resolve a class action alleging it discriminated against black farmers in its loan programs in the 1980s and 90s. The settlement also included processes for other civil rights allegations.

The estates allege the settlement administrator, Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions Inc., discriminated by giving female and Hispanic claimants access to claims ...