Benoit v. United States Department of Agriculture

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GINSBURG.

GINSBURG, Circuit Judge.

Fourteen African American farmers allege the United States Department of Agriculture discriminated against them on the basis of race (and, in one case, gender) in administering the agency’s federally funded credit and benefit programs. They assert claims under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691 et seq. (ECOA); the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981; the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.; the common law; and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the…