Pigford v. Veneman

• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia
• Writing for the Court: Friedman
• Citation: Pigford v. Veneman, 266 F.Supp.2d 105 (D. D.C. 2003)
• Decision Date: 04 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 98-1693(PLF).,No. CIV.A. 97-1978(PLF).,CIV.A. 97-1978(PLF).,CIV.A. 98-1693(PLF).
• Parties: Timothy PIGFORD, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Ann M. VENEMAN, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture, Defendant. Cecil BREWINGTON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Ann M. VENEMAN, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture, Defendant.

266 F.Supp.2d 105

Timothy PIGFORD, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Ann M. VENEMAN, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture, Defendant.

Cecil BREWINGTON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Ann M. VENEMAN, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture, Defendant.

No. CIV.A. 97-1978(PLF).

No. CIV.A. 98-1693(PLF).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

June 4, 2003.

Jacob A. Stein, Stein, Mitchell & Mezines, Washington, DC, Alexander John Pires, Jr., Conlon, Frantz, Phelan & Pires, Washington, DC, David A. Branch, Washington, DC, Anthony Herman, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC, Ricahrd Talbot Seymour, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Washington, DC, J.L. Chestnut, Jr., Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders, Pettaway, Campbell & Albright, Selma, AL, for Plaintiffs.

Terry M. Henry, Susan Hall Lennon, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Civil Div., Washington, DC, Daniel Edward Bensing, U.S. Dept. of Justice Federal Programs Branch, Washington, DC, Amanda Quster, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC, David Monro Souders, Weiner Brodsky Sidman & Kider, Washington, DC, Michael Sitcov, United States Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

FRIEDMAN, District Judge.

The Court has before it a motion by class counsel J.L. Chestnut on behalf of certain plaintiffs to reopen all late claims due to mail delays, as well as the government's opposition.¹ Upon consideration of the parties' arguments, the Court denies the motion to reopen.

Under the terms of the Consent Decree that resolved this case, farmers seeking relief under the settlement were required to file claim forms by October 12, 1999. See Consent Decree, April 15, 1999 at 15(c). After this deadline passed, thousands of putative claimants petitioned for leave to late file under Paragraph 5(g) of the Consent Decree, which allows late claims only where the failure to timely file was caused by "extraordinary circumstances beyond [the claimant's] control." See Consent Decree at 115(g). The Court subsequently delegated the authority to decide these petitions to the Arbitrator in this case, Michael Lewis. See Order of December 20, 1999. As of June 2, 2003, Mr. Lewis continues to work toward completion of that process. See Arbitrator's Fourth Report on the Late-Claim Petition Process at 3 ("Fourth Arb. Report").

Plaintiffs now assert that a substantial number of claims may have been timely filed but never delivered to the Facilitator due to loss or delay by the United States Postal Service ("U.S.P.S."). See Motion to Reopen All Late Claims Due to Mail Delays at 2-3 ("Pl.Motion"). Plaintiffs base this assertion on the fact that in January 2003, a U.S. Post Office in Wilcox County, Alabama discovered approximately 36 claim forms that had been postmarked October 12, 1999 but not delivered. See id. at 2. These claims subsequently were delivered to the Facilitator and processed as timely filed, but plaintiffs suggest that other timely claims may have been similarly lost or delayed by the Postal Service. See id. To ensure that other claimants are not denied relief because their timely claims were lost or delayed by the Postal Service, plaintiffs urge the Court to (1) reopen all cases where claimants have sought leave to late file by asserting that they timely filed their claims through the U.S. mail; (2) establish standards for Michael Lewis to employ to determine when late claims should be allowed based on the negligence or willful misconduct of the U.S.P.S. or its agents; and (3) order the initiation of a "serious government investigation" into potential misconduct by the U.S.P.S. in delaying or destroying farmer claims for relief. See id. at 3.

The Arbitrator has established standard procedures for deciding all petitions to late file, including those where the claimant alleges that he or she timely filed a claim through the U.S. mail. See Fourth Arb. Report at 3. As it has made clear by previous Orders, the Court has delegated final authority to the Arbitrator to consider late-claim petitions and to reconsider denials of these petitions; it has retained no authority to review the Arbitrator's rulings on petitions to late file. See Pigford v. Veneman, 201 F.Supp.2d 139, 141 (D.D.C.2002) (Order of May 10, 2002); Pigford v. Veneman, 173 F.Supp.2d 38, 40 (D.D.C.2001) (Order of Nov. 26, 2001). Nor has it retained authority to control or review the procedures that the Arbitrator employs to reach his decisions. See id.

Even if the Court had retained the authority to reopen cases already reviewed by the Arbitrator or to establish standards for him to apply, however, it is evident that these forms of relief are not necessary. As the Court has observed previously, Mr. Lewis has established thorough and well-reasoned procedures that are "more than sufficient to ensure that Section 5(g) of the Consent Decree is properly and justly applied and to assure that fair process is afforded." See Pigford v. Veneman, 173 F.Supp.2d at 40. Moreover, with respect to those petitions where a claimant alleges timely filing by U.S. mail, Mr. Lewis reports that even before the discovery of undelivered claim forms in a U.S. Post...