Romero v. Mountaire Farms, Inc.

Full title: MARIO P. ROMERO, MICAELA SOTO DURAN, and EULALIO GUTIERREZ, on behalf of…

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA SOUTHERN DIVISION

Date published: Apr 11, 2013

7:09-CV-190-BO (E.D.N.C. Apr. 11, 2013)

Opinion

7:09-CV-190-BO

04-11-2013

MARIO P. ROMERO, MICAELA SOTO DURAN, and EULALIO GUTIERREZ, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. MOUNTAIRE FARMS, INC., Defendant.

TERRENCE W. BOYLE

ORDER

This cause comes before the Court following a hearing before the undersigned on several pending motions. Having considered the motions and the arguments of counsel, and for the reasons discussed at the hearing, the Court finds as follows: that class counsel of Martin & Jones having been already appointed in this matter, and there being no showing that class counsel has inadequately or unfairly represented the interests of the class, appointment of co-lead counsel is not warranted at this time; that good cause exists for extending or staying the Court's earlier-imposed deadline for submission of a preliminary settlement agreement; that the addition of class representatives, without opposition from defendant, is appropriate; and that the class settlement falls within the range of reasonableness and should therefore be preliminarily approved.

Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the motion for appointment of co-lead counsel [DE 145] is DENIED, the joint motion to stay court ordered deadline [DE 151] is GRANTED,¹ the motion for addition of class representatives [DE 157] is GRANTED,² and the joint motion for preliminary approval of collective action/class action settlement [DE 159] is GRANTED.

1 The clerk is DIRECTED to terminate the pending motion at DE 148 as the corrected version was filed at DE 151.

2 The clerk is DIRECTED to terminate the pending motion at DE 158. This is a memorandum not a pending motion.
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The clerk is DIRECTED to add Jennifer Bompus, Shawn Brown, and Norris J. Brayboy, II as class representatives in this matter. The parties are DIRECTED to proceed with the requirements of Rule 23(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to prepare this matter for a final hearing on whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

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TERRENCE W. BOYLE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE