A take-it-or-leave-it offer from the Obama administration to settle Hispanic farmers’ discrimination allegations left their attorney “gravely disappointed.”
Earlier this week, the Justice Department offered $1.3 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by dozens of Hispanic and female farmers who allege that the Agriculture Department discriminated against them in the awarding of government loans and other assistance.
Stephen Hill (Howrey)
Stephen Hill, the lead attorney in the Hispanic farmers case — Guadalupe L. Garcia Jr. v. the Secretary of Agriculture – charged that the offer itself is so low it would perpetuate the discrimination his clients suffered at the hands of the Agriculture Department.
“It is disappointing in that the number on the table is woefully inadequate and it reflects a continuation of the discrimination against the Hispanic farmers that this case is all about,” said Hill of Howrey LLP.
The administration, Hill said, “seems to think that they can single Hispanics out for different and less favorable treatment when it comes to the administration of justice, and we’re not going to abide by it.”
In a Tuesday meeting in Assistant Attorney General Tony West’s 3rd Floor conference room, Hill said he was told the government would agree to spend up to $1.33 billion from its Judgment Fund to settle allegations by Hill’s clients — as well as women farmers who are making similar claims.
Hill was joined in the meeting by fellow Howrey attorney Alan Wiseman and by Eugene Sullivan of the firm Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan, LLP. Former FBI director Louis Freeh has also helped Hill on the case, lobbying then-White House counsel Greg Craig on the matter at a White House reception last August.
Hill said he was shocked that the Justice Department then “leaked it all over the country” after making the offer, hoping to portray the offer “as a fait accompli [and] plant the false impression among our clients and farmers that this is a done deal.”
An Associated Press story on the offer cited “a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement has not been finalized.”
Justice Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said by email that she had “no idea who the source quoted in the article was.” She declined to comment on the offer, saying, “we don’t discuss pending negotiations/settlement proposals.”
“We are committed to resolving cases involving allegations of past discrimination by individuals including Hispanic and women farmers as well as ensuring the every farmer and rancher is treated equally and fairly,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement to Main Justice. “We have made significant progress on addressing USDA’s civil rights record and look forward to providing substantial relief to Hispanic and women farmers in an expedited manner.”
Hill called the offer “a step forward” in that it represented an acknowledgment from the administration that a deal is needed. He said he was pleased that “they have put a number on the table and have agreed that it ought to come from the judgment fund.”
But he said the $2.25 billion agreed to for African American farmers in the so-called Pigford settlements “comes much closer to being a fair amount” for the Hispanic farmers.
In the 1990s, a group of African-American farmers successfully sued the Agriculture Department, alleging discrimination against them in the awarding of government loans and other assistance. The farmers received more than $1 billion under a 1999 class action settlement with the government — called Pigford after the suit’s lead plaintiff. The plaintiffs could get another $1.15 billion under a deal Congress is expected to vote on this week.
Hill said the 2007 Agriculture census found more than 55,000 Hispanic farmers and 300,00 female farmers, compared with nearly 31,000 black farmers. Thus, he said, the amount offered would fund settlements of $50,000 for only 27,000 or so farmers — and that is without the administrative costs that would likely also come out of the $1.33 billion.
Hill’s case differs from Pigford in that the Black farmers’ case was certified as a class action. Federal judges rejected class status for the Hispanic farmers and for a group of women farmers in a similar case, Rosemary Love v. Thomas Vilsack. Hill previously told Main Justice that this determination did not prevent a class settlement because parties to a case can simply agree to handle a settlement across a class of plaintiffs.
Hill also faulted the procedures the Justice Department proposed for giving notice to possible claimants and apportioning the $1.33 billion among them. He said it would not involve court supervision that he believes is necessary.
The DOJ’s proposal “is fundamentally flawed and is designed… to depress and suppress the number of Hispanic farmers and ranchers who will pursue valid compensation claims,” Hill said.
Hill said congressmen, senators and the White House, which have all already prodded the Justice Department to negotiate, would hear from angry constituents.
“We obviously expect a response from the grass roots. We would certainly be hopeful that our representatives in Congress would not abide this and let the administration get away with such an obvious discrimination,” Hill said.
Hill said Howrey has invested a substantial amount of money — he said he doesn’t know exactly how much — in getting the case to this point over a period of several years. He said he’s never discussed Howrey’s possible fees with the government but acknowledged the firm hopes to be paid.
“Obviously we’ve put in a lot of effort and the firm at the end of the day would like to be compensated for it,” Hill said.
Hill said he was not given a deadline for accepting or rejecting the offer and indicated he plans to treat it as an open negotiation despite Justice’s insistence it was a final offer. As to what’s next, Hill said, “We’ll just have to keep plugging away. I can tell you our clients are very upset by this,” he said. “We are hopeful that reason will ultimately prevail and we stand ready to engage in good faith substantive negotiations to resolve this.”