Love v. Vilsack
Love v. Vilsack refers to the 2001 lawsuit filed by a group of women farmers against the USDA. The lawsuit alleged that the USDA discriminated against female farmers through the agricultural loan process, and specifically named the Farm Service Agency. This lawsuit is often discussed in conjunction with Garcia v. Vilsack because of its similar timeline and like the Garcia v. Vilsack, the claims process for female farmers was voluntary, which meant that female farmers had to file claims individually.
Lawsuit
The plaintiffs claimed that they were being discriminated against based on their gender. This discrimination focused on the number of loans that were denied to female farmers, the unequal distribution of loans, tardy loans given by the USDA, and the failure to investigate claims filed by the female farmers. The plaintiffs also alleged that the discrimination occurred at their local USDA offices and that government officials did not classify women as farmers.In court, the female farmers attempted to be certified as a class. The female farmers did so under the ECOA and the APA. However, in 2001, the district court presiding over the case dismissed one of the female farmer's claims, the claim that the USDA had failed to investigate claims filed by the female farmers. In 2004, the female farmers were denied class certification. The court ruled this because the plaintiffs were unable to present a commonality as a class. Subsequent appeals by the plaintiffs were dismissed at the DC Circuit Court and in 2010, the Supreme Court refused to hear the plaintiff's appeal.