USDA Files Status Report for Female and Hispanic Farmers Settlement

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On June 8, the U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a status report for both the female and Hispanic farmer settlements. The USDA settlement, worth more than $1.3 billion, resolves allegations that Hispanic and female farmers were discriminated against by the USDA.

Hispanic and female farmers claimed that local USDA offices denied them loans and other assistance that were offered to white male farmers between 1981 and 2000.

Under the terms of the USDA settlement, eligible claimants who filed timely and valid claims could receive an award of up to $50,000 or up to $250,000 in cash. The USDA also agreed to provide up to $160 million in debt relief to claimants who currently owe USDA money for eligible farm loans. The deadline to file a claim passed on May 1, 2013.

The USDA’s status report indicates that more than 53,800 people filed a claim for the settlements. According to the Claims Administrator, less than half of these claims were timely and complete. In total, only 3,210 claims were approved. Of the approved claims, 2,504 were filed by female farmer claimants and 706 were filed by Hispanic farmer claimants.

The total approved claims resulted in more than $207 million in cash awards, forgiveness of eligible farm loan debt and tax relief.

Of the nearly 19,000 timely and complete claims that were denied, 10,361 were denied due to fraud concerns. Others were denied because they had been filed by individuals who asserted claims in other proceedings and nearly 8,000 claims were denied on the merits, according to the USDA’s status report.

The Department of the Treasury will review the approved claims and the USDA estimates that payments will start to go out beginning in mid-June. The federal government will continue to submit the additional prevailing claims to the Treasury on a rolling basis.

According to a post on the settlement website, “Claim determination letters have been mailed to all claimants who submitted a timely claim. All decisions are final, and there is no process for further review or appeal. Checks for successful claims will continue to mail on a rolling basis over the next several months.”

The Hispanic and Female Farmers Lawsuit is Rosemary Love, et al. v. Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, Case No. 1:00-cv-02502, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.