| February 16, 2022 |
Filing
41
FINAL JUDGMENT APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE AS TO DEFENDANTS GLENCORE LTD. AND ACCESS WORLD (USA) LLC: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that: This Court has jurisdiction over the subject ma tter of the Action and over all parties to the Settlement Agreement, including all Settlement Class Members. The notice provisions of the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. §1715, have been satisfied. The requirements of Federal Rules of Ci vil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3) have been satisfied, and based on the record before the Court, the Court hereby finally certifies, for the purposes of settlement only, the following Settlement Class: All persons and entities that purchased LME U.S. Zinc and paid the Platts Zinc MW SHG Premium or similar price premium in the United States from a primary zinc producer or a Defendant from September 14, 2010 to February 11, 2016. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are Defendant s and all other defendants named in the Corrected and Consolidated Amended Complaint, filed September 28, 2015 (ECF No. 138), and their officers, directors, management, employees, subsidiaries, or affiliates and all federal governmental entities . The Court finds that the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are satisfied solely for settlement purposes, as follows; as further set forth in this Order. Plaintiffs are certified as class representatives on behalf of the Settlement Class. The Court finds that the dissemination of the Notice and the publication of the Publication Notice; as further set forth herein. Pursuant to Rule 23(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court hereby fully and fin ally approves the Settlement set forth in the Settlement Agreement in all respects (including, without limitation, the amount of the Settlement, the Releases provided for therein, and the dismissal with prejudice of the claims asserted against Def endants in the Action), and finds that the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and is in compliance with all applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In reaching this conclusion, the Court considered the factors se t forth in City of Detroit v. Grinnell Corp., 495 F.2d 448, 463 (2d Cir. 1974), abrogated on other grounds by Goldberger v. Integrated Res., Inc., 209 F.3d 43 (2d Cir. 2000) and Rule 23(e)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Moreover, the Court concludes that, as further set forth herein. The Court hereby grants final approval of the Plan of Allocation on the basis that it is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Action and all claims contained therein, as well as all of the Rel eased Claims, against any of the Released Parties by the Plaintiffs, Settlement Class Members, and Releasing Parties are hereby dismissed with prejudice. The Parties are to bear their own costs, except as otherwise provided in the Settlement Agree ment. The Court's determination as to any fee and expense application and/or Plan of Allocation shall in no way disturb or affect this Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal and shall be considered separate from this Final Judgment and Order o f Dismissal. The terms of the Settlement Agreement and of this Judgment shall be forever binding on Defendants, Plaintiffs, and all other Settlement Class Members (regardless of whether or not any individual Settlement Class Member submits a Claim Form or seeks or obtains a distribution from the Net Settlement Fund), as well as their respective heirs, executors, administrators, predecessors, successors, and assigns in their capacities as such. Upon the Effective Date, each of the Releasi ng Parties: (a) shall be deemed to have, and by operation of this Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal, shall have fully, finally, and forever waived, released, relinquished, and discharged, as further set forth herein. This Final Judgment and O rder of Dismissal shall not affect, in any way, the right of Plaintiffs or Settlement Class Members to pursue claims, if any, outside the scope of the Released Claims. Neither the Settlement Agreement nor the settlement contained therein, nor any act performed or document executed pursuant to or in furtherance of the Settlement Agreement or the settlement: a. shall be offered against any of the Defendants as evidence of, or construed as, or deemed to be evidence of any presumption, conces sion, or admission by any of the Defendants with respect to the truth of any fact alleged by Plaintiffs, as further set forth herein. Without affecting the finality of this Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal in any way, this Court hereby retain s continuing jurisdiction over: (a) implementation of this settlement and any award or distribution of the Settlement Fund, including interest earned thereon; as further set forth herein. The Court finds that during the course of the Action, the P arties and their respective counsel at all times complied with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. Except as otherwise provided herein, in the event the Settlement Agreement is terminated, is vacated, is not approved, or the E ffective Date fails to occur for any reason, then the Parties to the Settlement Agreement shall be deemed to have reverted to their respective status in the Action as of 90 days prior to the Execution Date, and, except as otherwise expressly pro vided herein, the Parties shall proceed in all respects as if the Settlement Agreement and any related orders had not been entered, and any portion of the Settlement Fund previously paid by or on behalf of Defendants, together with any interest ear ned thereon, less any Taxes due and notice costs actually incurred up to $100,000, if any, with respect to such income, shall be returned to Defendants within ten (10) business days from the date of the event causing such termination. At the request of Defendants' Counsel, the Escrow Agent shall apply for any tax refund owed on the Settlement Fund and/or the Notice and Administration Fund and pay the proceeds to Defendants. There is no just reason for delay in the entry of this Judgment as a final judgment in this Action. Accordingly, the Clerk of the Court is expressly directed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) to immediately enter this final judgment in this Action. ( As further set forth in this Judgment.) IT IS SO ORDERED. Filed In Associated Cases: 2:14-cv-03728-PAE, 2:14-cv-04290-PAE. (Signed by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on 2/16/2022) (vfr)
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| August 18, 2021 |
Filing
38
ORDER with respect to (298) Motion for Settlement in case 2:14-cv-03728-PAE. The Court will today issue an order granting plaintiffs' unopposed motion for, inter alia, preliminary approval of the proposed settlement in this case, Dkt. 298. The Court thanks plaintiffs' counsel for the helpful supplemental declaration of August 16, 2021, Dkt. 304, addressing questions regarding the claims procedure, the distribution of settlement proceeds, and the likelihood that the valid claims made b y class members will match or exceed the distributable amount of the settlement (i.e., the $9.85 million settlement amount, less attorneys' fees, service awards, and settlement costs). The Court treats the supplemental declaration as part o f the record in support of preliminary approval. For avoidance of doubt, the Court expects plaintiffs' counsel, as implicitly promised, to assure that direct outreach to class members is energetically pursued during the claims period, so as to maximize the likelihood that the class in fact recovers the full distributable amount of the settlement. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on 8/18/2021) Filed In Associated Cases: 2:14-cv-03728-PAE, 2:14-cv-04290-PAE (va)
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