Black farmers and farm groups have long been waiting for this directive from the judge. Namely, that farmers in the class whose claims have been denied will be able to submit additional information in the appeal of their claim. Many hoped this would be the case as justice would definitely not prevail if farmers were were denied this opportunity.

Many farmers, when initially preparing their claims, were assisted by attorneys and others in huge gatherings - often 300 to 500 farmers. Due to these circumstances, technical errors were often made in the preparation of these claims. In countless instances, the farmers were not at fault as they were simply accepting the advice of those assisting in the process.

In addition, in a March 25, 2000 letter to Judge Friedman, Ralph Paige, Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund (Federation/LAF), stated that "Many of the Track A claimants will be adversely effected if they are not allowed to suplement their application with information that is favorable to their claims. At the onset of the suit, many farmers were led to believe that their burden of proof did not require the production of documents, just a verifiable claim. However, many claims were denied for lack of documentation. Justice demands that these claimants have an opportunity to submit new information and documentation that is not available."

We have been informed that the the independent monitor, Attorney Roth, will soon (hopefully this week) be sending a letter to the more than 20,000 farmers who requested a claims package. In this letter she will expain the process for Monitor Review of farmers whose claims have been denied.

Once the letter has been sent to farmers along with specifics of the appeals process we will provide another update on the law suit.

The Federation/LAF and other farm groups across the south will be assisting farmers in the appeals process.