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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2002

A $19 billion discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of Native American farmers temporarily escaped review by a federal appeals court on Tuesday.

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a challenge to the class action status of the lawsuit. In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel said the issues raised by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman were "entirely unbriefed."

But the panel warned that the status could be challenged later on in the case. "[W]we are satisfied that the issue will not escape appellate review," Circuit Judge David Tatel wrote for the majority.

The lawsuit, known as Keeps Eagle, was filed in 1999 for 19,000 Native farmers who claim rampant discrimination at the Department of Agriculture.

Get the Decision:
IN RE: VENEMAN, No. 02-5021 (D.C. Cir. October 29, 2002)

Relevant Links:
Farmers Lawyer - http://www.farmerslawyer.com

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