Pigford, Timothy C. v. Veneman, Ann M.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge TATEL.

TATEL, Circuit Judge:

The question presented in this appeal concerns a district court’s authority to interpret or modify a consent decree — here, the settlement of a class action brought by over 20,000 African-American farmers charging the United States Department of Agriculture with racial discrimination in lending practices. Due to class counsel’s failure — “bordering on legal malpractice,” the district court, called it — to meet critical consent decree deadlines, the district court interpreted the decree to allow extension of such deadlines…