Post by sandi66 on Mar 25, 2011 23:20:48 GMT -5
Black Farmer Claims
Attorneys for the farmers and attorneys for the USDA are working to incorporate the provisions of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 into the February 18, 2010 Settlement Agreement. After these changes are made and a revised Settlement Agreement is finalized, the parties will move for preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreement.
The following is an estimated timeline for future key events in In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litig. It is important to emphasize that these dates are merely estimates and are provided here only to give potential claimants a rough sense of when future events may take place.
IMPORTANT NOTE: No payments will be made until all claims are heard and adjudicated. This is not likely to occur before late 2012, and perhaps even later than that.
Estimated Timeline
* February-March 2011 – Motion for Preliminary Approval - Attorneys for the farmers and attorneys for the USDA will move for preliminary approval of the Settlement.
* March-April 2011 – Court Consideration of Preliminary Approval - The Court will consider whether to grant preliminary approval of the Settlement. The Court may or may not schedule a hearing as part of its review process.
* Spring 2011 – Notice Period - If the Court preliminarily approves the Settlement, Notice will be sent to prospective Class Members regarding when the Court will conduct a Fairness Hearing to decide whether to grant final approval to the Settlement and how interested parties can submit any objections to the Settlement.
* Summer 2011 – Fairness Hearing – If the Court grants preliminary approval of the Settlement in Spring 2011, then it is likely that the Court will hold a Fairness Hearing sometime during Summer 2011 to hear objections and decide whether to grant final approval to the Settlement.
* Winter/Early Spring 2012 – Claim Submission Period - The Settlement Agreement provides for a 180-day Claim Submission Period following Final Approval. That means that if the Court grants final approval to the Settlement on August 15, 2011 (this date is used solely for illustrative purposes), all black farmers wishing to participate in the Settlement would be required to have filed their claims by no later than February 11, 2012. Similarly, if the Court does not grant final approval until October 1, 2011, the claims deadline would not be until March 29, 2012.
* Spring to Fall 2012 – Claim Adjudications - All claims submitted by Class Members before the end of the Claim Period will be adjudicated by Neutrals to determine if they are meritorious. This process is expected to take several months.
* Winter 2012- 2013 – Distribution of Awards – After all of the timely claims have been adjudicated by the Neutrals, and it is determined how much each successful claimant is entitled to receive, the Claims Administrator will distribute payments to successful claimants.
www.blackfarmerclaims.com/
Attorneys for the farmers and attorneys for the USDA are working to incorporate the provisions of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 into the February 18, 2010 Settlement Agreement. After these changes are made and a revised Settlement Agreement is finalized, the parties will move for preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreement.
The following is an estimated timeline for future key events in In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litig. It is important to emphasize that these dates are merely estimates and are provided here only to give potential claimants a rough sense of when future events may take place.
IMPORTANT NOTE: No payments will be made until all claims are heard and adjudicated. This is not likely to occur before late 2012, and perhaps even later than that.
Estimated Timeline
* February-March 2011 – Motion for Preliminary Approval - Attorneys for the farmers and attorneys for the USDA will move for preliminary approval of the Settlement.
* March-April 2011 – Court Consideration of Preliminary Approval - The Court will consider whether to grant preliminary approval of the Settlement. The Court may or may not schedule a hearing as part of its review process.
* Spring 2011 – Notice Period - If the Court preliminarily approves the Settlement, Notice will be sent to prospective Class Members regarding when the Court will conduct a Fairness Hearing to decide whether to grant final approval to the Settlement and how interested parties can submit any objections to the Settlement.
* Summer 2011 – Fairness Hearing – If the Court grants preliminary approval of the Settlement in Spring 2011, then it is likely that the Court will hold a Fairness Hearing sometime during Summer 2011 to hear objections and decide whether to grant final approval to the Settlement.
* Winter/Early Spring 2012 – Claim Submission Period - The Settlement Agreement provides for a 180-day Claim Submission Period following Final Approval. That means that if the Court grants final approval to the Settlement on August 15, 2011 (this date is used solely for illustrative purposes), all black farmers wishing to participate in the Settlement would be required to have filed their claims by no later than February 11, 2012. Similarly, if the Court does not grant final approval until October 1, 2011, the claims deadline would not be until March 29, 2012.
* Spring to Fall 2012 – Claim Adjudications - All claims submitted by Class Members before the end of the Claim Period will be adjudicated by Neutrals to determine if they are meritorious. This process is expected to take several months.
* Winter 2012- 2013 – Distribution of Awards – After all of the timely claims have been adjudicated by the Neutrals, and it is determined how much each successful claimant is entitled to receive, the Claims Administrator will distribute payments to successful claimants.
www.blackfarmerclaims.com/