ORIGl~J.\L FILED
Jfn tbe Wniteb ~tates Qeourt of jfeberal Qelaitns MAR 24 2011
U.S. COURT OF
No. 16-264C FEDERAL CLAIMS
(Filed Under Seal: January 31, 2017)
(Reissued for Publication: March 24, 2017)*
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CARL PARK.ER, Individual and *
*
Administrator for the Estate of Gary L.
Parker, * RCFC 12(b)(l); RCFC 12(b)(6); Subject
* Matter Jurisdiction; Failure to State a
Plaintiff, * Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted;
* Pigford Litigation; Section 741; Consent
v. * Decree; Equal Credit Opportunity Act;
* Contractual Takings; Unenacted
THE UNITED STATES, * Legislation; 2008 Farm Bill
*
Defendant. *
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Carl Parker, Ashburn, GA, pro se.
Daniel S. Herzfeld, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
SWEENEY, Judge
In this case, plaintiff Carl Parker, individually and as administrator for the estate of Gary
L. Parker, seeks damages related to (1) the purported failure of the Farm Service Agency
("FSA") of the United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") to abide by the consent
decree in the Pigford class-action discrimination litigation and (2) ongoing discrimination by the
USDA. Defendant United States moves to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction and, alternatively, for failure to state a claim upon which this court can grant relief.
For the reasons set forth below, the court grants defendant's motion to dismiss and denies Carl
Parker's motion for summary judgment as moot.
* The court provided the parties with an opportunity to suggest redactions to this ruling.
In a February 28, 2017 status report, defendant indicated that no redactions were necessary and
that it had been unsuccessful in attempting to communicate with Carl Parker regarding proposed
redactions. To date, Carl Parker has not suggested any redactions. Accordingly, the court
reissues this decision without redactions.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Pigford I Litigation
On August 28, 1997, three African-American farmers filed a putative class action against
the USDA to obtain redress for a long pattern of discrimination against African-American
farmers in its credit and benefit programs. 1 Pigford v. Glickman ("Pigford I"), 185 F.R.D. 82,
86-89 (D.D.C. 1999), affd, 206 F.3d 1212 (D.C. Cir. 2000). Although the USDA had a process
in place for resolving discrimination complaints, the system had been effectively nonexistent for
over a decade prior to initiation of the lawsuit, leaving many wronged farmers without relief. Id.
at 88. This systemic discrimination, which violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
("ECOA''), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691-1691f (2012), led to a significant decline in the number of
African-American farmers throughout the United States. Pigford I, 185 F.R.D. at 87. An initial
class was certified on October 9, 1998. Id. at 90.
Prior to 2010, the statute oflimitations on alleged ECOA violations was two years.
15 U.S.C. § 169le(f) (2006); see Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,
Pub. L. No. 111-203, § 1085(7), 124 Stat. 2083, 2085 (2010)(increasing the statute oflimitations
on ECOA claims from two years to five years). On October 21, 1998, Congress enacted the
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 105-277, div. A, sec. lOl(a), 112 Stat. 2681, 2681 to
2681-50 (1998). Section 741 of that Act ("Section 741") waived the statute oflimitations for
actions filed within two years of its passage-i.e., until October 21, 2000-if a complaint had
been filed with the USDA before July 1, 1997, alleging nonemployment discrimination between
January 1, 1981, and December 31, 1996. Id.§ 741, 112 Stat. at2681-30 to -31. Section 741
also permitted aggrieved farmers to obtain an administrative hearing on the record in lieu of
pursuing a judicial remedy. Id.
On January 5, 1999, a newly certified class in Pigford I was defined as:
All African American farmers who ( 1) farmed, or attempted to
farm, between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996; (2)
applied to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
during that time period for participation in a federal farm credit or
benefit program and who believed that they were discriminated
against on the basis of race in USDA's response to that
application; and (3) filed a discrimination complaint on or before
July 1, 1997, regarding USDA's treatment of such farm credit or
benefit application.
1
The court derives the facts in this section from Carl Parker's complaint ("Comp!."), the
exhibits attached to the complaint ("Comp!. Ex."), the appendix to defendant's motion to dismiss
("Def.' s App."), the attachments to defendant's reply in support of its motion to dismiss ("Def.' s
Reply Attach."), filings in related litigation, and various judicial and administrative decisions.
-2-
185 F.R.D. at 92. Following settlement negotiations, id. at 89-92, a consent decree was approved
as "fair, adequate, and reasonable" on April 14, 1999, id. at 86. 2 Its purpose was to ensure that
"in their dealings with USDA, all class members receive full and fair treatment that is the same
as the treatment accorded to similarly situated white persons." Def.'s App. A2. The estimated
value of the settlement at the time was $2.25 billion, constituting the "largest civil rights
settlement in the history of this country." Pigford I, 185 F.R.D. at 95.
Under the terms of the consent decree, class members could opt out of class treatment
within 120 days of entry of the consent decree. Def.' s App. A5. Otherwise, class members were
generally required to submit a claim package within 180 days of entry of the consent decree-i.e,
by October 12, 1999---