Opinion
Civil Action No. 18-1114 (UNA)
01-08-2019
MELVIN SMITH, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
The plaintiff alleges "negligence on the part of the Dep[artment] of Agriculture and its handling of the Black Farmers litigation settlement." Compl. at 2. The plaintiff may be referring to the Consent Decree reached in Pigford v. Glickman, Civ. No. 97-1978 (D.D.C. 1999). Because there appears to be no legal basis to sue the Department of Agriculture outside of the Pigford Consent Decree for alleged discriminatory lending, see Shade v. U.S. Cong., 942 F. Supp. 2d 43, 49 (D.D.C. 2013), aff'd sub nom. Shade v. Cong., No. 13-5185, 2013 WL 5975978 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 15, 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 194 (2014), the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The Court will grant the plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss the complaint without prejudice. An Order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion is issued separately. DATE: 1/8/19
/s/_________
United States District Judge