The U.S. government has agreed to pay black farmers $1.15 billion to settle decades-old claims that the U.S. Department of Agriculture systematically shut them out of a loan program.
The settlement, announced February 18, is on top of an earlier $1 billion settlement, and addresses claims by farmers who were left out of the previous settlement. It represents a triumph not just for the 30,000–50,000 farmers who may participate in the award, but for Crowell & Moring partners Laurel Malson and Andrew Marks, who have represented the farmers since 2008. (Rachel Hines, senior counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, steered the negotiations for the USDA.)
