Barnhardt et al v. Meridian Municipal Separate School District

Filing 202

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT AND REQUIRING NOTICE. Signed by District Judge Henry T. Wingate on 8/4/2023 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, Notice of Proposed Settlement, # 2 Exhibit B, Objection or Comment Form)(nd)

Case 4:65-cv-01300-HTW-LGI Document 202 Filed 08/04/23 Page 1 of 5

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
EASTERN DIVISION
JOHN BARNHARDT, ET AL.

PLAINTIFFS

and
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.

PLAINTIFF INTERVENOR
CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:65-cv-01300–HTW-LGI

MERIDIAN MUNICIPAL SEPARATE
SCHOOL DISTRICT, ET AL.

DEFENDANTS

ORDER PRELIMINARILY APPROVING SETTLEMENT PURSUANT TO FED. R.
CIV. P. 23(E) AND REQUIRING NOTICE TO THE PLAINTIFF CLASS
The Private Plaintiffs John Barnhardt, et al. and Defendants Meridian Public School
District, et al. have jointly moved for preliminary approval by this Court of their proposed
Settlement Agreement that would terminate this desegregation action. The Settlement Agreement
and supporting materials have been submitted to the Court along with the Joint Motion. See
[ECF 158].
The Court is of the opinion that the settlement embodied in the materials filed with the
Joint Motion should be, and is hereby preliminarily, approved, subject to consideration of any
objections that may be made by members of the plaintiff class.
Counsel for the parties have conferred and agreed upon the setting and procedures for the
unitary status hearing, for the publication of notice of the hearing, and for public objection and
comment.

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IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED:
1.

That the Court grants preliminary approval of Private Plaintiffs and Defendants’
settlement of this case, embodied in the Settlement Agreement filed on August 9, 2019, at
ECF 158-1.

2.

That the Court authorizes publication of the Proposed Settlement and Hearing on Fairness
of Settlement and Unitary Status (“Notice”), which notifies the public, including the
plaintiff class, that a fairness hearing will be held in this matter. A copy of which is
attached to this Agreed Order as Exhibit “A.”

3.

That the Meridian Public School District is directed to publish the Notice three times in
the general news section and in the legal notice section of the Meridian Star and the
Clarion-Ledger. Pursuant to the Notice, any objections or comments must be in writing
and must be mailed to the Court and postmarked on or before September 1, 2023. The
District shall also post the Notice in the Office of the District’s Superintendent and in
each school in the District from August 14, 2023, through September 1, 2023. The Court
finds that this Notice and its publication are sufficient to satisfy due process requirements
under these circumstances.

4.

The Court shall hold a fairness hearing for the purpose of (1) considering any timely filed
comments on or objections to the proposed settlement by members of the plaintiff class
or other members of the community, if there are any such objections, comments, or
requests to appear at the hearing, and (2) determining whether the District has attained
unitary status. The hearing shall take place on September 12, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at the
United States Federal Courthouse, 501 E. Court Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. The
Court will consider the objections and comments of the public that are received by the

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Court and are timely postmarked. The Court may hear from persons who appear at the
hearing who have submitted an Objection or Comment form pursuant to the Notice. A
copy of the Objection or Comment Form is attached as Exhibit “B” to this Agreed Order.
The Court will make available for counsel for the parties copies of all timely submitted
objections and comments as they come in.
5.

The deadline for written comments about and/or objections to the Settlement Agreement
is September 1, 2023.

6.

On September 1, 2023, counsel for the parties shall exchange a list of witnesses who may
be called to testify at the hearing and a list of all exhibits that they intend to offer as
evidence at the hearing.

7.

Parties to the settlement will submit a joint motion for final approval, including a
proposed final approval order by September 8, 2023.

8.

If necessary, any post-hearing briefing responding to public comments and objections to
be filed by October 20, 2023.
SO ORDERED this the 4th day of August, 2023.

/s/HENRY T. WINGATE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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Agreed to by:
Counsel for Private Plaintiffs:
/s/ John Cusick
John Cusick
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
40 Rector Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10006-1738
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 212-226-7592
Counsel for the United States of America:
/s/ Aria Vaughan
Aria Vaughan
Natane Singleton
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Educational Opportunities Section
4 Constitution Square
150 M Street NEWashington, D.C. 20002
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 202-524-8337
Counsel for Defendant Meridian Public School District:
/s/ John S. Hooks
John S. Hooks
Mississippi Bar No. 99175
ADAMS AND REESE LLP
1018 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 800
Ridgeland, Mississippi 39157
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]

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and
John G. Compton
MS Bar No. 6433
Witherspoon & Compton
1100 23rd Avenue
P. O. Box 845
Meridian, Mississippi 39302
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]

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