Perez-Benites et al v. Candy Brand, LLC et al
Filing
283
ORDER granting 279 Motion Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Entry of Final Judgment; Case dismissed with prejudice subject to terms of settlement agreement. Signed by Honorable Robert T. Dawson on April 9, 2012. (cnn)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
EL DORADO DIVISION
ROSALINO PEREZ-BENITES,
LUIS ALBERTO ASCENCIO VAZQUEZ,
and PASCUAL NORIEGA NARVAEZ,
on behalf of themselves and
all other similarly situated,
v.
PLAINTIFFS
CASE NO. 07-1048
CANDY BRAND, LLC, ARKANSAS
TOMATO SHIPPERS, LLC, RANDY
CLANTON, BROOKS LISENBEY,
and CHARLES SEARCY
DEFENDANTS
ORDER OF FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS
ACTION SETTLEMENT AND ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT
This matter is before the Court on the Plaintiffs’ Motion
for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Entry of Final
Judgment.
1.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
The Court previously granted preliminary approval to
the class action settlement in this case on December 29, 2011.
(Doc. 276).
The Court held a final fairness hearing with
respect to the class action settlement on March 27, 2012.
2.
For purposes of the claims brought for breach of
contract, which were previously certified by this Court for
class action treatment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 23 (Docs. 173 & 174), the settlement covers the
following classes of individuals:
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All nonsupervisory workers employed by Defendants at
any time during the 2003 through 2007 tomato seasons
who were employed pursuant to H-2A temporary work
visas; and
All nonsupervisory workers employed in the Defendants’
packing shed operations at any time during the 2003
through 2007 tomato seasons—irrespective of visa
status—who did not receive overtime pay during
workweeks when they worked more than forty (40) hours.
3.
All of the class members identified above were
provided notice by mail of the pendency of this class action and
an opportunity to exclude themselves, and were again provided
notice by mail of the class action settlement and an opportunity
to exclude themselves and/or file objections to the settlement.
The Court finds that the notice given to the class satisfied the
requirements of due process and Rule 23(e) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure.
4.
There were twenty-six (26) individuals who filed
exclusion forms with the Court prior to the settlement.
As
such, the following twenty-six (26) individuals, and only these
twenty-six (26) individuals, are excluded from the class covered
by the settlement and this final judgment Order:
J. Rosario
Perez Angeles, Luis Gomez Gomez, Nestor Reynoso Reyes, Herlindo
Reynoso Reyes, Laurentino Mejia Rebolledo, Filiberto Diaz Cano,
Yolanda Saucedo Fuentes, Elvis Fabricio Arjon, Arturo Andres
Luna, Reyes Isidro Zavala, Ramon Santos Pascual, Felix Hernandez
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Naranjo, Francisco Gambino Amaya, Eulogio Guillen Juarez,
Barriga Juarez Pascual, Arturo Bismark Mata Talavero, Daniel
Godinez Escamilla, Marco Antonio Trujillo Trujillo, Adam Wesley
Green, Casie Jo Greenwood, Abdon Rodriguez Sanchez, Alejandro
Duran Pineda, Vicente Moreno Saldana, Carlos Rodriguez Almanza,
Rodolfo de la Cruz Ascencio, and Jason Brad Lisenbey.
5.
No class members requested exclusion from the
settlement by the March 27, 2012, deadline, and no request for
exclusion have been received since the date of the final
fairness hearing.
6.
Notice was given that on January 6, 2012, the
Defendants completed the mailing of the notices and documents
required by the Class Action Fairness Act to the appropriate
Federal officials and the appropriate State officials; entry of
this order of final approval is not issued earlier than 90 days
after the mailings.
7.
The Court approves the settlement and its terms as
fair, reasonable, and adequate, and approves the amounts to be
paid to the Plaintiffs and the class members, as well as the
costs and attorneys’ fees to be paid to Class Counsel pursuant
to the settlement.
8.
Settlement Services, Inc., of Tallahassee, Florida, is
appointed to act as the Settlement Administrator, pursuant to
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the terms of the settlement, and will work under the direction
of Class Counsel.
9.
By means of this Order, this Court hereby enters final
judgment in this action, as defined by Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 58(a)(1).
10.
Without affecting the finality of this final judgment
in any way, the Court retains jurisdiction of all matters
relating to the interpretation, administration, implementation,
effectuation, and enforcement of this Order and the settlement.
11.
The parties are hereby ordered to implement and comply
with the terms of the settlement.
12.
This action is dismissed with prejudice, subject to
the terms of the settlement agreement.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 9th day of April, 2012.
/s/ Robert T. Dawson
Honorable Robert T. Dawson
United States District Judge
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