If you are a member of the Pigford II Class Action Lawsuit (see below for explanation), you must file your claim by midnight on Friday, May 11th.
You can submit by fax: 1-877-716-9998
You can submit by mail, post marked May 11th:
Black Farmers Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 4028
Portland, OR 97208-4028
For information on meetings with attorneys to assist you in filing your claim, go to:
https://www.blackfarmercase.com//Meetings.aspx or
https://www.blackfarmercase.com//Consel.aspx
To determine if you are in the case OR make an appointment to meet with an attorney to file a claim, call the claims Administrator at: 1-877-810-8110 (EPIQ)
For information or assistance, call the Federation of Southern Cooperatives: 1-800- 503-5678
For problems with the case, contact the Ombudsman: 1-866-686-8682
For more information: blackfarmercase.com or federationsoutherncoop.com
If you are a Class Member of this case, you may receive money from this Settlement. A Class Member must:
- Be a Late Filer or Late-Late Filer (i.e., you sent a written Late-Filing Request on or between October 13, 1999 and June 18, 2008 to the Court, the Facilitator, the Arbitrator, or the Monitor in the Pigford case asking to participate in the Pigford settlement); and
- Have not already received a determination on the merits of your discrimination claim in Pigford. If you are a Class Member and the Court has said you may be eligible for an award under the Settlement you, or the person on whose behalf you are filing a claim, must meet ALL of the following criteria:
1. You are an African American.
2. You farmed or attempted to farm between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996; 3. You owned or leased, or attempted to own or lease, farm land between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996.
4. Between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996, you applied or attempted to apply to the USDA for participation in a federal farm credit or benefit program(s) and believe that you were discriminated against on the basis of race by the USDA in response to your request.
5. If you applied (i.e., not merely attempted to apply) for a loan or benefit program, one of the following occurred:
- Were denied participation in a federal farm credit or benefit program(s); or
- Participation was provided late, approved for a lesser amount than you requested, or burdened by restrictive conditions;
- Received a loan with unfair terms; or
- Did not receive appropriate loan servicing from the USDA.
6. You suffered economic or financial loss as a result of the USDA’s treatment of your application(s) for participation in a federal farm loan or benefit program(s) or as a result of inappropriate loan service by USDA; and
7. You complained of discrimination to an official of the United States Government on or before July 1, 1997 regarding USDA’s treatment of you.
If you are the heir or legal representative of someone who died who fits this description, you may file a claim for payment that would become part of the deceased person’s estate.