CATOOSA, Okla. – Despite multiple pleas from claimants and would-be claimants, there will not be another round of payouts in the Keepseagle v. Vilsack class action settlement.
Settled in 2010, Keepseagle v. Vilsack was initially filed in 1999 by a group of Native American farmers who claimed the USDA discriminated against them while applying for farm loans. Some were denied loans that were given to white farmers with similar histories while others received loans but received little if any service in the process.
The plaintiffs have received $760 million in the settlement, but with fewer claimants successfully able to prove their case than expected, $380 million remains to be spent, prompting a series of listening sessions across Indian Country throughout August, including one Wednesday at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino that drew more than 100 farmers and ranchers from as far away as Alabama.
“I can’t make this any clearer: the USDA won’t agree to any additional payouts or claimant classes. Neither will the court,” attorney Joe Sellers said.
Under the terms of the negotiations with the USDA, all parties involved must agree to the settlement provisions. With direct payouts now off of the table, the class counsel and lead plaintiffs put forward a potential plan to the class action participants in an effort to keep the settlement funds within Indian Country’s agricultural community.
“What you’ve got to understand is when you negotiate, you don’t get everything you want and neither does the other side,” lead plaintiff Porter Holder said. “Yes, we tied our hands (with the settlement terms) but we didn’t know there’d be this much left over. We had one chance at this and we gave it our best shot.
“We weren’t picking on some little snot-nosed kid. We were picking a fight with the biggest damn kid in town when we went after the USDA.”
The proposal presented Wednesday would place $342 million in a trust fund that would be overseen by 11 court-appointed trustees. Those trustees would have up to 20 years to distribute the money to non-profit organizations that have provided advocacy or some form of help to farmer and business owners in Indian Country. Individuals could not directly receive funds from the trust but could be an indirect recipient, such as through a grantee’s scholarship program.
The proposal would also make the remaining $38 million available to non-profit organizations within six months of the settlement’s final approval via a “fast track” portion. Those funds could only be allocated to non-profit organizations that existed prior to October 2010 and provided advocacy or assistance to farmers and business owners in Indian Country.
No funds will be distributed until the court approves the settlement plan.
Despite Sellers and other members of the legal team frequently repeating that there would not be an additional direct distribution to participants, several attendees asked about potentially getting an additional settlement check and roundly blasted the federal government for its objections to individual awards.
“The money left over should be allocated to those of us who previously proved our discrimination claims,” Layla Campbell said. “The USDA is wrong on this.
“Please remember our comments. The USDA should be stood up to.”
Additional listening sessions are scheduled for Tuesday in Albuquerque; Aug. 7 in Phoenix; Aug. 12 in Rapid City, S.D.; Aug. 14 in Bismarck, N.D.; Aug. 19 in Spokane, Wash.; Aug. 21 in Billings, Mont.; and Aug. 26 in Raleigh, N.C. All in-person sessions are scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. local time.
Webinars and conference calls are also scheduled for Aug. 6, Aug. 16, and Aug. 20. Participants are asked to sign up in advance and registration links are available through www.indianaglink.com.