Revised Worksheet For Affidavit Tier 1(a) ---- Attempted

PLEASE DO NOT FAX THIS DOCUMENT
EX
Revised Worksheet For Affidavit
HI
"B BIT
"
Tier 1(a) ‐‐‐‐ Attempted To Apply ($50,000)
1. Between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 2000, did (Claimant)1 either (A) own farmland
(B) attempt to own (C) lease or (D) attempt to lease farmland? Please give a brief description of
which year the Claimant either owned, leased or attempt to own or lease. See Examples A‐F.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________.
2. If available, would the Submitter have any documents such as deeds, tax receipts, etc., that could be
attached as an Exhibit to the Submitter’s Affidavit? Yes___ No__. Remember, if the Claimant was
an heir to property that was passed down to him or her, that property can be used to satisfy
Question No. 1 above.
3. To the best of your knowledge, did the Claimant apply or attempt to apply for credit (loan) at a USDA
County or Parish Office between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 2000? Please explain on the
following lines. See Examples G‐K.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________.
4. To the best of your ability identify the crops2 and/or commodities that the Claimant either wanted
or attempted to grow and/or produce if he or she had received the loan otherwise requested or
obtained from USDA.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________.
1 Claimant: Any person (Mother, Father, Grandfather, Grandmother, Sister, Brother or a close relative, including self, etc.) whom the Submitter is filing this claim on behalf of.
Crops: To include, but not limited to, livestock (beef, pork), poultry, seafood, vegetables, corn, soybeans, hay, cotton and/or others.
2
1
If any receipts, sales tickets and/or news articles exist, would you like them to be added as an Exhibit to your Affidavit? Yes___ No___. 5. If Claimant did not receive the requested credit/loan as referenced in Question No. 3 above, what is
the estimated economic damage to the Victim? $___________ (BFAA, Inc. will help with this item).
NARRATIVE STATEMENT
6. BFAA, Inc. is recommending that all of its Claimants and Submitters provide a summary
(narrative) statement of the alleged acts of discrimination being made to the Adjudicator and
or Arbitrators. See Example M‐Q.
Tier 1(b) ‐‐‐‐ Certain Documentation ($250,000) 7. If the Submitter believes that the Claimant lost more than $50,000 as a direct result of the
discrimination that the Claimant suffered at the hands of USDA employees from any county
and/or parish office in any state and have documents to substantiate those losses, the
Claimant may be eligible to file this claim under Tier 1(b). The Submitter will note that a
Tier 1(b) in this lawsuit is the same as a Track B Claim from Pigford 1. See Pigford I Consent
Decree at ¶ No. 10.
However, all Tier 1 (b) Claims will require the submission of evidence supporting desperate treatment (similarly situated White farmers). To satisfy this requirement the Submitter can use Uniform Commercial Codes – 1 (UCC‐1). This information is available from the respective courthouse wherein the Claimant was located at the time of the alleged discrimination. See Example L. Additionally, the UCC‐1 can be from an adjoining county and/parish and can be from a year immediately before or after the years being alleged by the Submitter. Tier 2 ‐‐‐‐ Certain Documentation ($50,000)
8. Does the Claimant have any loan documents showing that he or she actually received a
loan or credit benefit from the USDA that is dated between January 1, 1981 and December
31, 2000? This document could be from (1) a housing loan from the Farmers Home
2
Administration (FmHA) or (2) the Farm Service Agency (FSA) or (3) a document from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). However, a document from a local bank, credit union or farm supply dealer will not suffice to establish documents from USDA.3
Moreover, a housing loan that was made by USDA’s FmHA or Rural Development can be used to establish a Tier 2 claim.
EXAMPLES
A. (attached)
B. ….….…..In 1981, I owned 110 acres of farmland in Clark County, Georgia. This land was more specifically located off Hwy 246 near the town of Smithville.
C. ….….…..In 1983, I attempted to lease 5 acres of farmland in Crump County, Tennessee. This land was located in the Booneville Community off State Highway 415. D. ….….…..In 1986, I attempted to own 40 acres of farmland in Davis County, Mississippi. This land was situated off of County Road No. 267 in the Jonestown Township. E. ….….…..In 1989, my parents leased 40 acres of farmland in Ripley County, Oklahoma off FM Road 2045, just west of Holly Grove.
F.
….….…..In 1992, my son attempted to lease approximately 20 acres of farmland in Bakersfield, CA located in Kern County. This farmland was more specifically situated off Cottonwood Road east of Bakersfield. G. ...........In February 1981, I attempted to get an operating loan (seeds, chemicals and other farm
supplies). I went to the USDA office in Union County, North Carolina to apply through FmHA. I owned
85 acres and intended to plant and harvest corn and soybeans. I needed seed, fertilizer, gas, oil,
parts, and some equipment. The lady behind the desk with whom I
3
However, a document from any bank, credit union and/or farm supplier could be used to help establish the fact that USDA denied credit to Claimant and therefore will help to establish a claim under Tire 1(b). 3
spoke at the USDA office stated no funds were available for me because I did not have enough agricultural farm experience. I was not allowed to complete an application. H. …….…In February 1983, I went to the USDA office Hogan County, Florida to apply for an operational loan to purchase 50 heads of cattle. I also needed some money to grow hay and corn. The USDA representative stated that money was no longer available for starting a cattle operation and I was not given an application. I.
…….…In January of 1982, I attempted to purchase 40 acres of farmland in Como County, Alabama located near the town of Gurney. I intended to plant and harvest some corn, soybeans and vegetables. I needed seed, fertilizer, gas, oil, parts (operating loan), and other material in order to plant and harvest the crops. I spoke with a representative at the USDA office and he refused to give me an application.
J.
…….…In 1995, my parents owned 40 acres of farmland in Hernando, Louisiana near Fulton Parish. They intended to plant and harvest vegetables on their farmland. They needed seed parts, and farming equipment in order to plant and harvest vegetables. In February of that year they went to the FHA office in Fulton and attempted to apply for an operating loan and a housing loan through FmHA. They were informed by a representative that loans were not available at that time as there were no funds. They were also told that they should try to get the money from a local bank. K. …….…In January of 1992, my son went to the USDA office in Vassar, Michigan to apply for an operational loan through FmHA to purchase seeds and chemicals to plant 20 acres of vegetables but was denied. The County Supervisor told him that there were no available funds for loans and he failed to provide him with an application. He was discriminated against and suffered an economic loss as a result. L. (For Tier 1(b) Claimants only)
M. ……….I am the daughter of a lifelong farmer. My sibling’s (Mary Doe) Certificate of Live Birth clearly shows that my father (John Doe) was indeed a farmer. See Attached Exhibit #4. The Springfield Community was a community where Black farmers and landowners had settled into for years and years. I had an opportunity to buy land from one of these individuals. I had access to all kinds of equipment and farm labor. All needed was credit to buy the land and supplies. However, I was denied an opportunity to apply for the loan. As a result of this denial the land was eventually sold to a white farmer. 4
N. ………In 1980 my father suffered from the effects of the severe draught. He had lost both crops and
livestock as a result of this natural disaster. He was aware of the opportunity that the government (FmHA) was making available to growers and ranchers who had been victimized by this historical draught (Emergency Loan). In early 1981 he made an appointment to see one of the loan specialists at the FmHA office in Pineville, Texas to borrow approximately $50,000. He knew most of the people who worked for the USDA in Pineville County and a large number of farmers in that county also. When he visited the office he was told to see Mr. Joe Doe. Mr. Doe proceeded to tell my father how hard it had become for all farmers to make a living in farming and even acknowledged and congratulated my father for trying to make sure that his sons and daughters were able to continue in the vocation of farming with him. My father knew that the Government had an agreement with the local banks whereby they would subordinate a loan agreement until moneys were appropriated by Congress. However, Mr. Doe told my father that the farmers who were able to subordinate were farmers who agreed to put their land as collateral for the subordination. My father told him that his crops should have been sufficient to stand for the loan--not his farm. Then Mr. Doe told him that at his age the County Committee would not favor subordination or an operating and/or
emergency loan. Then he (Mr. Doe) told my father that the County Committee might let one of his
children who was also farming have a loan instead. However, he refused to give my father an application.
O. ………My father and his sibling, sons and daughters were well known landowners and farmers in Palmer County, North Carolina (Huntsman Chapel Community). My father had various farming enterprises (cattle, corn, cotton, soybeans, sorghum molasses processing, vegetable and a small logging operation). My Certificate of Live Birth clearly shows that my father was indeed a farmer. See attached Exhibit #4. After he was forced to give up his farming operation he was moved to Chicago to stay with a daughter where he died in 1985. His Certificate of Death from the State of Illinois states that his place of birth and occupation was that of a N. Carolina farmer/farm. See Attached Exhibit #5 on lines 13a and 13b respectively. My father died with the knowledge that he had been mistreated by the government in that he was not able to carry out the very vocation and job of providing a chance for his children and grandchildren to remain in farming. He had worked all of his life to make sure that his children continued in the industry of agriculture. He had always talked about eventually incorporating all of his children into one large farming corporation. However, his dreams were shattered when he was denied an opportunity to receive loan and credit benefits from the USDA employees in Palmer County.
P. …….. In January of 1996 my aunt tried to get a loan to purchase seeds and chemicals to plant her corn and vegetables crops. The county supervisor at the USDA office in Westin, Illinois, told my aunt that she did not have enough collateral necessary for a loan, however, my aunt told him that she had heard that the government was making special loans (Emergency Loans) to farmers and ranchers who had experienced the drought of 1980, but Mr. Jones would not give her an application. Q. ……..My father was indeed a farmer. See lines 14a and 14b of Exhibit #1. He had been farming in Francis County, Missouri all of his life. As a result of a severe drought in 1980, he was no longer
able to sustain his farming operation without credit. He was denied an opportunity to receive the credit necessary (Emergency Loan) for him to continue his vocation in farming. 5
PLEASE DO NOT FAX THIS DOCUMENT OR ANY
OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
******************
PLEASE DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THESE DOCUMENTS (Death
Certificates, Birth Certificates, Fax Receipts, etc.) BY MAIL TO:
BFAA, Inc.
5 North Third Street, Suite 2030
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
1 (901)‐522‐8880
WEBSITE: WWW.MYBFAA.US
Dated this the ______________________________ day of _________________________ 20_____
Signature: _______________________________________________________________________
On behalf of (Claimant)_____________________________________________________________
Submitter: (Please Print)___________________________________________________________
Submitter’s Address________________________________________ City___________________
State______ Zip_________ Phone____________________e‐Mail_________________________
BFAA, Inc . Case Rep. (only): _________________________________________________________
6