A motion requesting the distribution of Dean Foods Settlement Payment #4 in the Southeast Milk Litigation has been filed with the Greeneville Division, Eastern District of TN, U.S. Federal Court.
Attorneys for dairy-farmer plaintiffs entered this 9-page motion on Thursday, July 15, 2015.
This motion is the first of several legal actions, all defined by Federal Rules of Court, which must take place before producers will receive their settlement checks in the mail.
Given court-defined time frames for various filings and possible counter-actions, class members could forseeably receive this cycle of Settlement checks by late September or early October. However, any actual distribution to class members could be delayed by any legal challenges to this Motion.
If any counter-filings/responses are entered, then they would require a ruling from the Court, before an Order for Distribution triggers the actual payments.
Class members can expect the amount of this payment to be approximately equal to the amounts they received in Dean Payment #3, in November of 2014.
As with previous payments, this $20 Million settlement payment will have various court-related expenses and administration fees deducted, then be distributed with approximately 2/3 (over $12 million) to be paid to class members/farmers, and 1/3 ($6.66 million) to the attorney teams. This is in keeping with other similar class-action settlements, and the methods of payments in previous payment cycles in this specific dairy industry litigation.
Following this 2015 payment cycle in the Dean Foods Settlement segment of the Southeast Milk Litigation, there will be one payment remaining, due in late summer of 2016.
When all payments are completed in 2016, $140 Million dollars will have been distributed to class members per the Settlement Agreements. This is believed to be the largest monetary settlement ever reached with Dean Foods.
An additional payment in the DFA Settlement portion may be forthcoming in 2016, which will be dependent on utilization percentages in Federal Orders 5 and 7, in defined time frames which are outlined in the DFA Settlement Agreement.
It is unknown at this time if that payment will actually occur. Plaintiffs attorneys will be monitoring the terms of that settlement, and will file any necessary Motions at the appropriate time.
For additional information and a number of court documents related to the Southeast Milk Litigation, visit www.southeastdairyclass.com.
Source: Julia G. Walker, AgriVoice
7.22.2015