153962P.pdf   07/06/2017  Lott Johnson  v.  Sonny Perdue
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  15-3962
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock   
   [PUBLISHED] [Kelly, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Sippel, District 
   Judge] 
   Civil case - Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Plaintiff's Equal Credit 
   Opportunity Act claims against the Secretary of Agriculture and USDA 
   employees were not barred by res judicata and collateral estoppel as this 
   circuit has held that a final decision by the Office of the Assistant 
   Secretary for Civil Rights could not bar subsequent federal litigation - 
   see Johnson v. Vilsack, 833 F.3d 948 (8th Cir. 2016); because the issue is 
   fully briefed and addresses a pure question of law, the court will 
   consider the individual defendants' claims that plaintiff failed to 
   properly plead a Equal Credit Opportunity Act claim even though the 
   district court did not reach the issue because of its ruling that the 
   claim was barred; plaintiff stated a claim against the individual 
   defendants; the remedial scheme created by the USDA regulations did not 
   preclude a Bivens claim against the individual defendants; plaintiff 
   failed to adequately plead a conspiracy and dismissal of that claim is 
   affirmed; remanded for further proceedings on the Bivens claim and the 
   Equal Credit Opportunity Act claims.