Farmer-Paellmann originally filed the landmark case on March 26, 2002. It was consolidated with 8 similar actions in the Northern District Federal Court in Chicago, IL in 2003. The consolidated action was dismissed with prejudice by judge Charles Norgle on July 6, 2005. Plaintiffs appealed the case in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most pro-business circuits in the country, and secured an unprecedented victory. In the Decision, written by Judge Posner, the Appeals Court ruled in favor of half the case consisting of consumer fraud and fraud claims. It held that companies that lie about their role in slavery are guilty of fraud. However, they affirmed the lower Court ruling that former slaves should have brought their own claims against the companies and therefore, the plaintiffs are not the proper parties to bring the case.

"It was impossible for slaves or ex-slaves to bring this action. No one knew anything about these companies until 2000," said Farmer-Paellmann. It was in January of 2000 that Farmer-Paellmann initiated an effort to identify the names of specific companies that played a role in slavery and asked that they apologize and pay reparations. Prior to that time, books written on the history of slavery never identified any of the defendants as participants in slavery. However, the Appeals Court suggested that books written prior to the 2002 action should have been enough for former slaves to bring their own actions.

This is a very exciting moment in the struggle for reparations and we want to keep you up-to-date on the litigation against corporations.

Deadria Farmer-Paellmann with her attorney Bruce Afran - Photo by Claudette Perry

  On Monday, May 14, 2007, I filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States asking the Court to hear our class action case against corporations for reparations. It is entitled: Farmer-Paellmann v. Brown & Williamson. On May 22, 2007, the case was docketed as No. 06-1533.

As you may know, we won the consumer fraud part of this case in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, we lost the part demanding the return of wealth from corporations that profited off enslaving our ancestors. We believe that we have a strong chance of being granted review by the Supreme Court and winning our argument.

On Tuesday, May 22, 2007, the Supreme Court of the United States docketed a petition filed by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann -- the descendant of Africans enslaved in South Carolina -- asking the Court to hear a case against 17 major financial institutions for their role in financing, underwriting and supporting slavery.

At issue is whether statues of limitations should be tolled to permit slave descendants to bring actions for restitution against the corporations that allegedly earned profits enslaving Africans in violation of Northern antislavery laws. The case is entitled, Farmer-Paellmann v. Brown & Williamson, No. 06-1533. The defendants in the action include: FleetBoston Financial Corporation, Aetna Inc., JP Morgan Chase Manhattan Bank, New York Life Insurance Co., Lehman Bros, AIG, and Brown Brothers Harriman.

"It is a pivotal moment for African Americans and all people, and we believe the Court should hear the case, said Bruce Afran, counsel for Farmer-Paellmann. Co-counsel Carl Mayer added,"the issues presented are unique and are important in settling a long running injustice."

Adding to the absence of information identifying the defendants as slave profiteers is the fact that many of the defendants continue to deny that they played a role in slavery. Farmer-Paellmann argues in her petition, "most dastardly were the public false statements made by representatives of the JP Morgan Chase Bank denying, as late as March 5, 2004, that they were at all involved in slavery." Months later, after threat of loosing lucrative vending contracts with the City of Chicago, the bank filed a report admitting to their role in slavery.

"That we had a victory in the Appeals Court renewed my faith in the justice system. I am optimistic that the Supreme Court will hear our case and give us a chance to secure justice," said Farmer-Paellmann.

The court petition has been published to support the litigation by the non-profit Restitution Study Group with additional writings and can be purchased at: www.cafepress.com/rsgincorp. | the Independent Media article May 2007

e-mail - rsgincorp@yahoo.com
homepage - http://www.rsgincorp.com
phone:: 917-365-3007

Quoting Congressman John Conyers -- "One of the biggest challenges in discussing the issue of reparations in a political context is deciding how to have a national discussion without allowing the issue to polarize our party or our nation.

The approach that I have advocated for over a decade has been for the federal government to undertake an official study of the impact of slavery on the social, political and economic life of our nation."

Conyers introduced bill H.R. 40, Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. click to read it.

The Congressman has re-introduced House Resolution 40 every Congress since 1989, and promises to continue to do so until it's passed into law. Get updates about it from Congressman Conyers at his web site.

Download original law suit.(pdf)

article: In Defense of Reparations - Manning Marable

This download file is the class action complain filed by Deadria Farmer Paellmann titled "New York Class Action Complaint American Slavery Case" March 26, 2002, copyright Findlaw.com.

In Black Napster's opinion (2002)
It would be helpful to finance the reparations payment with a $1.00 service charge for each TIRE or tire related transaction for cars, trucks, autos, and vehicles used in the United States or sold abroad by a US based company.
(- *source: tire use revenues=www.tirebusiness.com- *)

This idea comes from the Underground Railroad. Tubman used those roads. Her wheels rolled onward and many were freed. Later on, when Parks sat on the bus, another movement started. Today, Hip Hop revenues fuel expensive wheels. Big Ballers buy them. This nation's culture, and black wealth has been changed by all that --- yet there are no black owned AT&T/COMCasters because of the thing that started the Reparations bill H.R. 40. pump pump!

      Yes! Citizens of Black Ancestry shall be charged. Of course, every other citizen must be charged for each tire related transaction in this deal. And, every state and US Territory collects a form of sales/use/ tax for funding government responsibilities.

Wouldn't it be just as easy to collect the $1.00 tire transaction service charge, for deposit and baseline asset for the Repartions Payment.

Question: How would you finance it?

GET THE DOWNLOAD BELOW
Published by www.findlaw.com, this case file began in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Content includes www.findlaw.com copyright notices.

New York/ Class Action Complaint American Slavery Case - March 26, 2002

To Download the Full PDF FORMATTED File
From blackSoftware.com, Please Click HERE

excerpt - taken from page Page 10
CLASS ALLEGATIONS

33. This action is brought and may properly be maintained as a class action pursuantto the provision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a), 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3). Plaintiffsseek certification of the following class: all African-American slave descendants.

34. The exact number of Plaintiff class members is not known. Plaintiffs estimatethat the class includes millions of African-American slave descendants and the Plaintiffsestimate that the class is so numerous that joinders of individual members is impracticable.

The number and identities of the class members can only be ascertained through appropriateinvestigation and discovery.

35. Questions of fact and law are common with respect to each class member.

Common questions of fact and law include:

a. Whether Defendants knowingly, intentionally and systematically benefitedfrom the use of enslaved laborers;

b. Whether Defendants wrongly converted to their own use and for their ownbenefit, the slave labor and services of the Plaintiffs’ forebearers, as well as,the products and profits from such slave labor;

c. Whether the Defendants knew or should have known that they were assistingand acting as accomplices in immoral and inhuman deprivation of life andliberty;

d. Whether Defendants have been unjustly enriched by their wrongful conduct;and ...

it continues on... 20 pages total. This is an Adobe PDF file youcan display and PRINT to share it, with Adobe AcroBat software.

More...

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE Plaintiffs and the Plaintiffs’ class demand a jury trial and judgment and damagesagainst the Defendants, jointly, severally and/or in the alternative, as follows:

(1) For an order certifying the Plaintiff class alleged herein;
(2) For an accounting;
(3) For the appointment of an independent historic commission;
(4) For the imposition of a constructive trust;
(5) For restitution of the value of their descendants’ slave labor;
(6) For restitution of the value of their unjust enrichment based upon slave labor;
(7) For disgorgement of illicit profits;
(8) For compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by trialtogether with interest;
(9) For exemplary or punitive damages in an amount to be determined attrial;

---

To Download the Full PDF FORMATTED File
From blackSoftware.com, Please Click HERE

---