FINAL JUDGMENT
JAMES C. DEVER, III, Chief 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 Final Judgment, the Final Approval Order, and the Settlement Agreement to seek an injunction and to support a defense of res 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 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 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 Final Judgment. Upon entry, this Court DECREES that this document be deemed a Final Judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 58.
SO ORDERED.
EXHIBIT A
Name State
1 RACHEL J BARR EXEC NC
2 F R EASON NC
3 KORNEGAY FAMILY FARMS LL NC
4 MAJOR JONES NC
5 WHITNEY ELROY KING NC
6 DOUGLAS L LANIER NC
7 RALPH ELLINGTON JR NC
8 GLENDA B BEAVERS NC
9 ANDREW KIRBY NC
10 JEFFREY V TYSON NC
11 SUSAN S EUBANK VA
12 LESTER B AYCOCK JR NC
13 MAJOR JONES NC
14 C L MITCHELL VA
15 MAX COOPER NC
16 RALPH RENEGAR NC
17 GREGORY C PRITCETT VA
18 JOHN MITCHELL KORNEGAY NC
19 MAJOR M JONES NC
20 GAY SULLIVAN NC
21 C J MITCHELL VA
22 CHANDLER WORLEY NC
23 LESTER B AYCOCK NC
24 RICHARD P RENEGAR NC
25 GREGORY. PRITCHETT VA
26 CHASE KORNEGAY NC
27 SHARON W TYSON NC
28 CLAY STRICKLAND NC
29 JAMES MORRIS NC
30 DONNELL KORNEGAY SR NC
31 JOHN H POPE NC
32 SHERRILL WJERNIGAN NC
33 SHERRILL JERNIGAN NC
34 C MONROE ENZOR JR NC
35 ANDREW TYSON NC
36 CRAIG WEST NC
37 CYNTHIA K IVEY NC
38 KRISTAL M JONES NC
39 MAJOR M JONES NC
40 WILLIAM R HORNER NC
41 DAN LEWIS NC
42 JAMES B MORRIS NC
43 KITSIE JONES NC
44 CJ MITCHELL VA
45 MYRTLE BOWMAN VA
46 HILDA ALPHIN NC
47 KYLE COX NC
48 SCOTT FARMS INC NC
49 RALPH RENEGAR NC
50 KRISTAL M JONES NC
51 SHERRILL W JERNIGAN NC
52 JOHNNY POPE NC
53 ORVILLE M WIGGINS NC
54 DANIEL KORNEGAY NC
55 BEAVERS, KEITH R NC
56 TYSON, HUBERT NC
57 TYSON, SUSAN M NC
58 McCULLEN, RANDY NC
59 WORLEY JR, ALFORD J NC
60 COLTRAIN, DOROTHY GAIL IVEY NC
61 SOMERSETT, CHARLES W NC
62 ROSS, MARK WHITLEY NC
63 HENDERSON, TERRY M NC
64 KIRBY, MORGAN MH
65 BEAMAN, JOHN RUSSELL NC
66 PIERCE JR, S STUART MP
67 MILLIGAN, CRAY NC
68 ALPHIN II, LEWIS NC
69 ALPHIN, LEWIS NC
70 INGRAM, HEATHER ALPHIN NC
71 McCLENNY, MEREDITH ALPHIN NC
72 JONES, TONY M NC
73 IVEY, JOHN D NC
74 IVEY, GORDON ROUSE NC
75 HOLLOWAY, LYNN S NC
76 HOLLOWAY, BRAD NC
77 KIRBY, TERRESA ANN PENNINGTON NC
78 CLEMMONS, JODY E NC
79 BRYAN, CECIL E NC
80 HORNER, DEBRA MCCULLOCK NC
81 POPE, DAVID NC
82 SCOTT JR, LINWOOD NC
83 FARMS, TIM FISHER NC
84 WEST, NELL BEAMAN NC
