AMENDED FINAL JUDGMENT
JAMES C. DEVER, III, District Judge.
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 of Rule 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 WITH 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, (images, 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 Complaint in this Action; and (iii) any action or inaction of the Cooperative or its Board of Directors, or any of them, 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 behalf of themselves, 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 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 deemed an Amended Final Judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 58, 60(a).
SO ORDERED.
EXHIBIT A
Revised Opt-Out List
Name State
1 RACHEL J. BARR EXEC NC
2 F R EASON NC
3 KORNEGAY FARMS, INC. NC
4 MAJOR JONES NC
5 WHITNEY E. KING NC
6 DOUGLAS L. LANIER NC
7 RALPH ELLINGTON JR. NC
8 GLENDA B. BEAVERS NC
9 ANDREW B. KIRBY NC
10 JEFFERY V. TYSON (TYSON NC
FAMILY FARMS, ROLLING T
FARMS LLC)
11 SUSAN S. EUBANK VA
12 LESTER B. AYCOCK JR. NC
13 CAROLYN S. MITCHELL VA
14 MAX COOPER NC
15 RALPH RENEGAR NC
16 GREGORY C. PRITCHETT VA
17 JOHN M. KORNEGAY NC
18 GAY SULLIVAN NC
19 CHANDLER WORLEY NC
20 LESTER B. AYCOCK NC
21 RICHARD P. RENEGAR NC
22 CHASE KORNEGAY NC
23 SHARON W. TYSON NC
24 CLAY M. STRICKLAND NC
25 JAMES E. MORRIS NC
26 DONNELL KORNEGAY SR. NC
27 ESTATE OF JOHN H. POPE NC
28 SHERRILL W. JERNIGAN NC
29 C. MONROE ENZOR JR. NC
30 HOWARD A. TYSON NC
31 WAITUS C.WEST NC
32 CYNTHIA K. IVEY NC
33 KRISTAL M JONES NC
34 WILLIAM R HORNER NC
35 DAN LEWIS NC
36 JAMES B MORRIS NC
37 KITSIE A. JONES NC
38 MYRTLE BOWMAN VA
39 HILDA ALPHIN NC
40 KYLE COX NC
41 SCOTT FARMS INC. NC
42 JOHN H. POPE JR. NC
43 ORVILLE M. WIGGINS NC
44 CECIL E. BRYAN NC
45 NIEL H. KORNEGAY NC
46 KEITH R. BEAVERS NC
47 ESTATE OF HUBERT N. TYSON NC
48 ESTATE OF SUSAN M. TYSON NC
49 RANDY McCULLEN (McFARMS) NC
50 ALFRED J. WORLEY JR. NC
51 DOROTHY G.I. COLTRAIN NC
52 CHARLES W. SOMERSETT NC
53 MARK W. ROSS NC
54 TERRY M. ALLEN (T.M. ALLEN INC.) NC
55 MORGAN KIRBY NC
56 S. STUART PIERCE JR. (STUART PIERCE NC
ARMS)
57 LEWIS ALPHIN II NC
58 LEWIS ALPHIN NC
59 HEATHER A. INGRAM NC
60 TONY M. JONES NC
61 JOHN D. IVEY NC
62 GORDON R. IVEY NC63 LYNN S. HOLLOWAY NC
63 LYNN S. HOLLOWAY NC
64 BRAD HOLLOWAY NC
65 JODY E. CLEMMONS (CLEMMONS NC
FARMING INC.)
66 ESTATE OF DALLAS H. McULLOCK JR. NC
67 DAVID POPE NC
68 LINWOOD SCOTT JR. NC
69 TIMOTHY W. FISHER (TIM FISHER NC
FARMS)
70 ESTATE OF SELBY T. BEAMAN NC
71 CHANDLER KORNEGAY NC
72 DONNELL KORNEGAY JR. NC
73 JOHN M. KORNEGAY NC
74 ESTATE OF PEARL W. TYSON NC
75 ESTATE OF LYNWOOD S. HOLLOWAY NC
76 RALPH ELLINGTON SR. NC
77 ESTATE OF JERRY L. WEST NC
78 VONDA H. BLACKBURN NC
79 ESTATE OF J.T. ELLINGTON JR. NC
80 J. THOMAS SHAW III NC
81 JACK M. GALLIMORE NC
82 ESTATE OF CHARLIE C. HORNER NC
83 FISHER FARMS PARTNERSHIPS NC
84 DAVID C. POPE NC
85 ESTATE OF JOEY W. KIRBY NC
86 ESTATE OF ROBERT F. KIRBY NC
87 THERESA A.P. KIRBY NC
88 JOHN R. BEAMAN NC
