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How to join the “Black Farmers” Class Action Suit

with 11 comments

We are posting the information on our blog, so that those who missed out on the Pigford vs Glickman class action suit that was originally settled in 1999, won’t miss the opportunity to be included this go around.

The Lawfirm is Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC, Conshohoken, Pennsylvania 
Phone:  888-348-6787

This is the link to the lawsuit website is:  www.blackfarmersjustice.com

You can visit this link and fill out a form to be contacted by the attorneys:  Questionnaire 

Also, you will need to download the fee agreement.  They are asking for 33.5% of whatever amount they recover for you.   Download their fee agreement

 

The Press release appears below:

Black Farmers Sue USDA

 

Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC Files Suit on Behalf of Hundreds of African American Farmers Who Claim Racial Discrimination against the United States Department of Agriculture

 

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 27, 2008–The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC:

 

The law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC filed a lawsuit today on behalf of hundreds of African American Farmers who allege that they were the victims of racial discrimination by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The farmers were originally class members in the action of Pigford v. Glickman but were denied benefits eligible to them due to defects in the notice program associated with the 1999 settlement. Specifically, the Plaintiff farmers were not given timely notice of the Pigford settlement and therefore were not able to participate in the settlement program and were not allowed to prove their claims on the merits. Last summer, Senator Barack Obama (IL) introduced legislation to allow these individuals the opportunity to prove their claims of racial discrimination on the merits. Senator Obama’s legislation ultimately became part of the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, passed by Congress on May 22, 2008.

 

As alleged in the Complaint, tens of thousands of African American farmers were discriminated against by the USDA based solely upon the fact that they are African American. The plight of the black farmer in the United States remains worrisome. In 1920, black farmers in the United States owned 15.6 million acres of land; by 1999 that number had fallen to 2 million, and the number is still dropping by 1,000 acres per day. In 1910 there were 926,000 African Americans involved in farming; at the end of the century, just 18,000 remain, and studies report they are going under at five to six times the rate of white farmers. In recent farm subsidy payments, just 18 percent of black farmers received government payments in 2002 compared with 34 percent of white farmers. The average payment for black farmers was $3,460 versus $9,300 for whites, the study said. Overall, although 5 percent of the nation’s farmers are minorities, they get just 1 percent of federal commodity payments.

 

“I applaud Congress for taking such an important step with yesterday’s passage of the Farm Bill,” said Harris Pogust, partner with the firm. “For far too long, black farmers in our country have experienced injustice. Black farmers are such an important part of the fabric of our country. But they must be treated equally and fairly.

The government must be accountable to these farmers, whose time for justice is long overdue.”

 

Today, the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC represents several thousand black farmers in their claims to restore their rightful entitlement to government funds. The law firm has established an informational website, www.blackfarmersjustice.com for individuals to access information and submit census information.

 

If you or anyone you know has been the subject of racial discrimination by the USDA you may be entitled to compensation pursuant to the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007.  Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC, which has significant experience and expertise prosecuting complex actions nationwide. For more information on Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC, please visit www.pbmattorneys.com.

Written by peoplesvoiceweekly

June 18, 2008 at 1:51 pm

11 Responses

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  1. I would kike to know how to get in on this class action law suit. Please contact me on this web site.

    Mr.Suane B.Huff

    July 9, 2008 at 5:49 am

  2. Dear Mr. Huff:

    If you merely click on the links in the article/information posted above, it will take you directly to the website that the attorneys have posted regarding the lawsuit. Scroll back up this page, and you’ll find links in the article, that give you the name and address of the attorney, as well as an information form.

  3. To whom it may concern, i wanted to know how to get in the
    in on the clas on the behalf of my father willie b preston
    from south ga near samll town call broxton Ga 404/213-3211

    Willie Preston

    August 10, 2008 at 9:55 pm

  4. You would need to get in touch with a law firm mentioned in the above article. There is a link in the article above, that will take you to their website. Also, their phone number appears in the above article. They have an online information form that you should complete and submit.

    Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson

    August 11, 2008 at 4:51 am

  5. I would like to know how to get in on the lawsuit also. My father, Jesse James Lawson was a share cropper in North Carolina for years. Alice Faye Lawson Hall

    Alice Faye Lawson Hall

    October 12, 2008 at 9:58 pm

  6. I would like information on the lawsuit. My father’s name was Willie Raymond Brinson. He was a farmer in North Carolina for approximately 50 years. I submitted an application but I have not heard anything from it.

    Mattie Brinson

    October 12, 2008 at 10:04 pm

  7. I like to know more about the law suit. My grandfather was a sharecropper, but I do not think he owned any land. Also, he did not farm after 1965. My aunt stated that she has a lawyer in Arkansas that said we can join the law suit. I’m not sure if this lawyer is trying to scam our family. Were can I find more information?

    Thanks

    Zena

    November 3, 2008 at 10:51 pm

  8. My parents were farmers from the time I was born and probrably earlier. However my father could never got the necessary loans like the White counteparts to increase his farm productivity and probably really never received for his product the same amount of money the White farmers received for theirs. He farmed all his life and never acquired the compensation he deserved for his labors, the time has now come to compensate and rectify those injustices.

    Willadine Bethea

    November 5, 2009 at 1:18 am

  9. My parents farmed from the time I was born until shortly before my father passed away in 1987. He enjoyed his work and worked hard at making it a livlihood, but could never acheive what he desired because of lack of financial support, so he did what he could with what he had. He made crops but never was he paid the compensation he deserved. In essence he got what he was given and most time spent more than he recoperated at the end of the year. All because he could not get the help and the necessary support he needed from the people who were suppose to help ,not hender, namely the US agriculture department.

    Willadine Bethea

    November 5, 2009 at 1:25 am

  10. yes i would like to know if i can apply for myself and on behalf of my mother she was a sharecrooper but now she haved passed i ;ve chopped cotton could you let me know if i;m eligible for me or my mom

    sheila porter

    November 17, 2009 at 11:18 pm


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