Updates
New documents have been added to the Important Documents page:
Zoom Information for Hearing on Motions for Attorney’s Fees
BTGCA's Response to Objection Regarding Exclusion of Pre-2015 Growers from Settlement Class
BTGCA's Statement in Support of Partial Settlement Including Judicial Dissolution
BTGCA's Response to Objection Regarding Inclusion of 2020 Only Growers in Settlement Class
Settlement Class Representatives' Motion for Ruling re Sufficency of Notice
McBrayer PLLC's Response to Objections Regarding Petition for Award of Attorney's Fees and Costs
McBrayer PLLC's Verified Supplement In Support of Petition for Award of Attorney's Fees and Costs
Joint Motion to Approve Settlement Provisions and Enter Partial Judgment
If you grew burley tobacco in the 2015–2020 crop years in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, or Missouri, you could get money from a proposed settlement.
Important Dates
January 15, 2021 — Deadline for Petition for Attorney’s Fees
January 29, 2021 — Confirm Class Membership Deadline
January 29, 2021 — Objection Deadline
February 24, 2021 at 9:00 A.M. — Fairness Hearing
- The Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association (“the Co-op”) is the subject of a lawsuit over duties owed to Co-op members and a claimed lack of any continuing purpose for the Co-op.
- A partial settlement has been reached that would result in dissolving the Co-op and paying between $2000 and $6000 each (estimated) to certain tobacco growers in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, or Missouri that are members of a settlement class certified by the Court.
- The settlement class is made up of those individuals or businesses that were a landowner, operator, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper growing burley tobacco in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, or Missouri during at least one of the 2015–2020 crop years.
- To be confirmed as a member of the settlement class and potentially receive a payment — from a pool of Co-op assets that could be as large as $28 million — you must take certain actions detailed in the notice.
- If the settlement is approved by the Court, your legal rights will be affected whether you take action or do not take action. Read the notice carefully.
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YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT
Check settlement class membership here |
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Confirm Class Membership and Send in W-9 Tax Form |
The only way to get money is to confirm settlement class membership and provide a W-9 form by January 29, 2021. |
Determine Membership |
Establish that you are a settlement class member (if you aren’t already identified as one). The deadline for your steps to determine membership is January 29, 2021. |
Object |
Write to the Court about why you don’t like the settlement. |
Go to a Hearing |
Ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the settlement. |
Do Nothing |
Get no money and be bound by the terms of the settlement. |
- These rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained in the notice.
- The Court in charge of this case still has to decide whether to approve the settlement. Payments will be made if the Court approves the settlement, and after any appeals are resolved. Please be patient.