By John Zippert, Co-Publisher, Greene County Democrat

 Federal District Judge, Paul Friedman, for the District of Columbia plans to hold a ‘fairness hearing’ in the Pigford II, Black Farmers Class Action Lawsuit on Thursday, September 1, 2011 in Washington, D. C.

The Pigford II case involves 65,000 Black farmers or their heirs who filed a late claim petition in the original Pigford case by September 15, 2000. There are an additional 20 to 50,000 people who filed a “late-late” claim in the case after September 15, 2000 and before passage of the 2008 Farm Bill in mid June 2008.

The Farm Bill provided $100 million towards the settlement of the Pigford II case. The USDA and the Department of Justice at the urging of President Obama settled the case for $1.25 billion in the Spring of 2010. Congress in the Lame Duck session held in December 2010 appropriated the remaining funds for the settlement and the President signed the legislation on December 8, 2011.

The scheduled fairness hearing is an opportunity for farmers and their legal representatives to comment and raise objections to the proposed settlement agreement. After this hearing, Judge Friedman is expected to approve the settlement with some modications and clarifications.

The Judge will also set the dates for the 180 day claim period during which all Pigford II late and late-late claims will have to be filed showing discrimination by USDA in the individual farmers’ case during the   15 year time period of the case – 1981 to 1996.

The late claim filers will then have six month to file their claims. Once the full universe of successful late claim filers is established then payments will be made from the settlement fund. Track A, basic filers have been promised up to $50,000 in the settlement, however, the amount could be reduced on a prorated scale based on the total number of successful claimants. Late-late claimants who are successful will receive 70% of the amount received by those who filed by the September 15, 2000 deadline.

Class Counsel attorneys will be available to help Black farmers file their claims. These attorneys say that payment will not be likely to be made until the Fall of 2012 or later depending on the process decided by the Judge after the fairness hearing.

Ralph Paige, Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, speaking for the Network of Black Farm Organizations, said, “This settlement has been a long time coming and we want to see that every Black farmer, who is eligible and qualified, is included. We will attend and monitor the process at and following the fairness hearing. We want to see community based Black farm organizations involved in the claims process.”

For more information on the case, you may check the website: www.blackfarmercase.com or call 1-877/810-8110 (Claims Facilitator) or 1-866/950-5547 (Class Counsel).