Activist Vows to Appeal Dismissed Slavery Lawsuit
"We will keep up the court battle for restitution from corporations complicit in slavery until justice is served", vows Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, pioneer in the effort for restitution from tainted corporations, and lead plaintiff in a lawsuit recently dismissed.
(PRWEB) July 15, 2005 -- On July 6, 2005 nine slavery reparations class
action lawsuits against corporations being heard in the Northern District
Federal Court of Illinois were dismissed by Judge Charles R. Norgle -- In Re:
African American Slave Descendants, CV-02-7764(CRN).
The lawsuits, filed
between March 2002 and January 2003, targeted 18 corporations for causing
injuries plaintiffs suffer from as a result of the enslavement of their
ancestors, and for consumer fraud injuries they recently incurred as a result of
defendants making false statements about their roles in slavery.
The
Court stated, as a key basis for the dismissals, that none of the plaintiffs had
any links to the defendants in the actions.
Deadria Farmer-Paellmann,
the lead plaintiff in the cases and pioneer of the corporate restitution effort
said: "The Court misstates the truth. I have direct links to every defendant in
the class action I filed." The defendants in her case are Aetna, FleetBoston
(Bank of America), and the railroad company CSX.
Farmer-Paellmann claims
that Aetna wrote a life insurance policy on her ancestor Abel who was enslaved
in South Carolina. She obtained evidence of the policy from the California
Slavery Era Insurance Registry published in 2002 based on a law introduced by
California Senator Tom Hayden.
Farmer-Paellmann also claims that she was
a consumer of FleetBoston and CSX and lost money as a result of being mislead
about their roles in slavery -- recent consumer fraud.
Prior to filing
the complaint, the Court allowed Farmer-Paellmann's counselors to withdraw from
representing her, the Court refused to allow her to represent herself, and it
refused to allow her to withdraw from the litigation.
She was forced to
remain in the litigation without any control over her case -- a violation of her
Constitutional "due process" right.
Consequently, details about her links
to defendants were excluded from a complaint filed by counsel who do not
represent her. These facts were included in other court documents, but the Court
chose not to recognize them in its decision.
"I cannot let this
injustice prevail," said Farmer-Paellmann.
"This corporate restitution
effort will only intensify because African Americans want justice for slavery,
and we are consumers of these companies," said Farmer-Paellmann. A 2002 CNN/USA
Today/Gallup poll indicated that 75% of African Americans want restitution from
corporations complicit in slavery (24 million of the 40 million African
Americans).
Farmer-Paellmann believes that she can still win this case.
She is interviewing lawyers to appeal the court decision. She is also pursuing a
fundraising effort to finance the appeal in Circuit Court and U.S. Supreme Court
if necessary.
"I am asking everyone who believes in justice to make a
contribution to the litigation fund.
Contributions can be made online or
via mail. For information or where to send contributions, please visit the
Restitution Study Group's website: www.rsgincorp.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb261936.htm