Speaks et al v. U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, Inc., No. 5:2012cv00729 - Document 272 (E.D.N.C. 2018)
Court Description: AMENDED FINAL JUDGMENT - Signed by Chief Judge James C. Dever III on 2/27/2018. (Briggeman, N.)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTII CAROLINA WESTERN DMSION No. 5:12-CV-729-D TERESA M. SPEAKS, TOBY SPEAKS, STANLEY SMITH, EDDIE BROWN, ROBERT POINDEXTER, MIKE MITCHELL, ROY L. COO~ ALEX SHUGART, H. RANDLE WOOD, ROBIN ROGERS, and DANIEL LEE NELSON, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) U.S. TOBACCO COOPERATIVE, INC. f/k/a ) FLUE-CURED TOBACCO COOPERATIVE ) STABILIZATION CORPORATION, ) ) Defendant. ) AMENDED FINAL JUDGMENT On February 20, 2018, the Court GRANTED plaintiffs' motion for final approval of a class action settlement [D.E. 216] and entered a Final Approval Order. The Court finds that the Settlement Class as defined in the Settlement Agreement [D.E. 60-1] meets the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a), (b)(3). Thus, the Court certifies the Settlement Class. The Court finds that class notice satisfied the requirements ofRule 23 and the Due Process Clause. The Court also finds that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e). Accordingly, the Court APPROVES the final class action settlement. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED as follows: 1. This Amended Final Judgment and the Final Approval Order incorporate the Settlement Agreement, and all definitions set forth in the Settlement Agreement. -All terms used herein shall have the same meanings as defined in the Settlement Agreement. 2. The Settlement Class includes: all individuals, proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other entities that are or were shareholders and/or members of U.S. Tobacco at any time during the Class Period, without any exclusion, including any heirs, representatives, executors, powers-of-attorney, successors, assigns, or others purporting to act for or on their behalf with respect to U.S. Tobacco and/or the Settled Claims. The certified Settlement Class includes all Settlement Class Members to whom notice was directed and who did not timely request to be excluded from the Settlement Class. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(3)(B). 3. Regardless of whether Settlement Class Members make claims under the Settlement Agreement, the Court's Final Approval Order and Amended Final Judgment DISMISSES WITII PREJUDICE Plaintiffs' and Settlement Class Members' claims and forever releases, remises, acquits, satisfies, and discharges Defendant from any and all actions, causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sums of money, accounts, reckoning, bonds, bills, covenants, controversies, damages, judgments, extents, executions, liabilities, claims, and demands whatsoever, in law, admiralty or equity, whether based on acts, omissions, or agreements, whether arising under federal, state, local, statutory, and/or common law and/or any other law, rule, or regulation (including, without limitation, the federal securities laws), whether known claims or Unknown Claims, that have been or could have been asserted, either directly, derivatively, or otherwise, in any forum by the Plaintiffs or the Settlement Class Members, and/or any of them, against any of the Released Parties which arise out of, are based upon, are in connection with, and/or relate in any way to: (i) any of the matters, things, causes, or events that are specifically released pursuant to any of the provisions of the Settlement Agreement or any document executed in connection therewith; (ii) any matter, thing, cause, or event whatsoever, or any series thereof, involved, set forth, and/or related to the Complaint or Amended 2 Complaint in this Action; and (iii) any action or inaction ofthe Cooperative or its Board ofDirectors, or any ofthem, whatsoever during the Class Period; provided, however, that the Settled Claims shall not include the right of any of the Parties or the Released Parties to enforce the terms of the Settlement. 4. This Amended Final Judgment is BINDING on all Parties and all Settlement Class Members who have not been timely excluded from the Settlement Class by serving a properly executed request for exclusion postmarked by December 20, 2017. Those EXCLUDED from the Settlement Class are identified in the opt-out list attached to this Amended Final Judgment as Exhibit A. The Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class Members who have not been timely excluded from the Settlement Class by serving a properly executed request for exclusion postmarked by December 20, 2017, on behalfofthemselves, their heirs, representatives, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns, and any persons they represent are ENJOINED from prosecuting each and every Settled Claim against the Defendant and each of the Released Parties. 5. Defendant or the Released Parties may use and file this Amended Final Judgment, the Final Approval Order, and the Settlement Agreement to seek an injunction and to support a defense ofres judicata, collateral estoppel, estoppel, release, waiver, good-faith settlement, judgment bar or reduction, full faith and credit, or any other theory of claim preclusion, issue preclusion, or similar defense, or counterclaim. 6. Neither this Amended Final Judgment, the Final Approval Order, the Attorneys' Fees and Incentive Award Order, nor the Settlement Agreement shall be construed or deemed to be evidence of, or an admission or concession on the part of, Defendant with respect to any claim, fault, liability, wrongdoing, or damage whatsoever that has been alleged against Defendant, or of any infirmity in the defenses that Defendant has asserted or could assert. Similarly, the Settlement Agreement shall 3 not be construed or deemed to be a concession by any of the Plaintiffs of any infirmity in the claims asserted in this Action. 7. This Court SHALL retain jurisdiction for the purpose of (i) enforcing the terms of this Amended Final Judgment and the Final Approval Order; (ii) enforcing the terms of the Settlement Agreement; (iii) resolving any claims of Settlement Class Members with respect to the Settlement Fund; and (iv) taking any steps necessary in aid of its jurisdiction or to protect or effectuate its judgments. 8. All Settled Claims as against the Defendant and the Released Parties are hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. 9. The Court expressly DIRECTS the Clerk of Court immediately to enter this Amended Final Judgment. Upon entry, this Court DECREES that this document be deemedanAmendedFinal Judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 58, 60(a). SO ORDERED. This 2..1 day of February 2018. I£ihc.~~~ Judge Chief United States District 4 State NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC 45. 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 11 12 Name RACHEL J. BARR EXEC FREASON KORNEGAY FARMS, INC. MAJOR JONES WHITNEY E. KING DOUGLAS L. LANIER RALPH ELLINGTON JR. GLENDA B. BEAVERS ANDREW B. KIRBY JEFFERY V. TYSON (TYSON FAMILY FARMS, ROLLING T FARMSLLC) SUSAN S. EUBANK LESTER B. AYCOCK JR. VA NC 55 MORGAN KIRBY 56 S. STUART PIERCE JR. (STUART PIERCE 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 CAROLYNS.MITCHELL MAX COOPER RALPH RENEGAR GREGORY C. PRITCHETT JOHN M. KORNEGAY GAY SULLIVAN CHANDLER WORLEY LESTER B. AYCOCK RICHARD P. RENEGAR VA NC NC VA NC NC NC NC NC 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 22 CHASE KORNEGAY 23 SHARON W. TYSON 24 CLAY M. STRICKLAND 25 JAMES E. MORRIS NC NC NC NC 66 67 68 69 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC VA NC NC NC NC NC NC 70 71 1 '2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DONNELL KORNEGAY SR. ESTATE OF JOHN H. POPE SHERRILL W. JERNIGAN C. MONROE ENZOR JR. HOWARD A. TYSON W AlTUS C. WEST CYNTHIA K. IVEY KRISTAL M JONES WILLIAM R HORNER DAN LEWIS JAMES B MORRIS KITSIE A. JONES MYRTLE BOWMAN HILDA ALPHIN KYLE COX SCOTT FARMS INC. JOHN H. POPE JR. ORVILLE M. WIGGINS CECIL E. BRYAN 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 Name DANIEL H. KORNEGAY KEITH R. BEAVERS ESTATE OF HUBERTN. TYSON ESTATE OF SUSAN M. TYSON RANDY MCCULLEN (MCFARMS) ALFRED J. WORLEY JR. DOROTHY G.I. COLTRAIN CHARLES W. SOMERSETT MARKW.ROSS TERRY M. ALLEN (T.M. ALLEN INC.) FARMS) LEWIS ALPHIN II LEWIS ALPHIN HEATHER A. INGRAM TONY M. JONES JOHND.IVEY GORDON R. IVEY LYNN S. HOLLOWAY BRAD HOLLOWAY JODY E. CLEMMONS (CLEMMONS FARMING INC.) ESTATE OF DALLAS H. MCULLOCK JR. DAVID POPE LINWOOD SCOTT JR. TIMOTHY W. FISHER (TIM FISHER FARMS) ESTATE OF SELBY T. BEAMAN CHANDLER KORNEGAY DONNELL KORNEGAY JR. JOHN M. KORNEGAY ESTATE OF PEARL W. TYSON ESTATE OF LYNWOOD S. HOLLOWAY RALPH ELLINGTON SR. ESTATE OF JERRY L. WEST VONDA H. BLACKBURN ESTATE OF J.T. ELLINGTON JR. J. THOMAS SHAW III JACK M. GALLIMORE ESTATE OF CHARLIE C. HORNER FISHER FARMS PARTNERSHIPS DAVID C. POPE ESTATE OF JOEY W. KIRBY ESTATE OF ROBERT F. KIRBY THERESA A.P. KIRBY JOHN R. BEAMAN State NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC Revised Opt-Out List EXHIBIT A
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