SMIRK’S-MOLINOS CRUMBLES SETTLEMENT

In the Case of Breeanne Buckley Peni, et al v. Daily Harvest, Inc. et al for the Settlement with Smirk’s Ltd. And Molinos Asociados SAC

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

ATTENTION ALL PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES WHO PURCHASED, RECEIVED, OR CONSUMED DAILY HARVEST FRENCH LENTIL + LEEK CRUMBLES IN 2022

A proposed class action settlement has been reached to resolve a lawsuit against Smirk’s Ltd. and Molinos Asociados SAC (the “Settling Defendants”) pertaining to personal injuries experienced by people who consumed Daily Harvest French Lentil + Leek Crumbles (“Crumbles”), which included the ingredient tara flour, at any time in the year 2022. 

Previously, Daily Harvest, Inc. and Stone Gate Foods, Inc., the other two Defendants in this case, agreed to a settlement (the “DH/SGF Settlement”).  For information on the DH/SGF Settlement, you can visit www.crumblessettlement.com.

This Settlement involves the two remaining Settling Defendants Smirk’s Ltd. and Molinos Asociados SAC (the “Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement”).

This page of the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement Website provides a summary of the notice as well as an outline of your rights and options under the Settlement; however, it is not all inclusive. The link below will take you directly to the detailed Class Notice of the terms of the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement. This notice may affect your rights.  Please read it carefully.

SETTLEMENT NOTICEDownload

Likewise, the Class Notice as well as other important pleadings and information about the Lawsuit and the proposed Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement can be accessed on the Pleadings and Important Documents tab.  Additionally, you can see answers to frequently asked questions on the FAQs tab.

The Court has defined the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement Class for this proposed settlement as follows:

All persons in the United States (including its territories) who purchased, received, or consumed French Lentil + Leek Crumbles and directly suffered personal injuries caused by consumption of the Crumbles, and all persons in the United States (including its territories) who suffered consequential monetary damages arising from or related to another person’s personal injuries arising from consumption of the Crumbles.

To settle the case, Settling Defendants have agreed to pay $7,671,000 to settle claims submitted by members of the Class, as well as for expenses necessary to administer the settlement. This amount may be reduced depending upon the number of people who opt out of the settlement, as explained further below.

YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT

Below is a summary of your rights and options in the proposed Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement, but for the precise terms and conditions of the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement, please see the Settlement Agreement and other related documents located in the Pleadings and Important Documents tab.  Your options discussed further below are A. Submit a Claim Form; B. Exclude Yourself from the Class; C. Object to the Settlement; D. Go to a Hearing on March 3, 2025; and/or E. Do Nothing.

A. SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM

Class Members will be eligible to file a claim for personal injury damages and/or consequential monetary damages related to another person’s personal injuries arising from consumption of the Crumbles.  

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY FILED A CLAIM TO RECEIVE BENEFITS FROM THE DH/SGF SETTLEMENT, AND WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SETTLEMENT TOO, YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE ANY FURTHER ACTION.  THE CLAIM FORM YOU HAVE ALREADY FILLED OUT WILL APPLY TO BOTH SETTLEMENTS.  HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PAYMENTS FROM EACH SETTLEMENT MAY NOT BE MADE AT THE SAME TIME, AS THEY ARE COMING FROM TWO SEPARATE QUALIFIED SETTLEMENT FUNDS AND ARE SUBJECT TO DIFFERENT TIMELINES.

IF YOU DID NOT FILE A CLAIM IN THE DH/SGF SETTLEMENT, AND YOU WANT O PARTICIPATE IN THIS SMIRK’S-MOLINOS SETTLEMENT, YOU WILL NEED TO FILE A CLAIM FORM.  THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET A CASH PAYMENT, IF YOU QUALIFY.  THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM, INCLUDING ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION AND SIGNATURES, IS JANUARY 21, 2025. 

The Claim Form, more information regarding how to file a Claim Form, as well as information regarding how the Settlement Administrator will grade claims, can be located in the Filing a Claim Form tab of this Website.

B. EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE CLASS

(OPT-OUT OF THE SMIRK’S-MOLINOS SETTLEMENT CLASS)

If you want to keep the right to assert claims about the issues in this case against the Settling Defendants, then you must take steps to get out of the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement.  This is called excluding yourself, or Opting-Out, of the Settlement Class.   If you Opt-Out, you will not get any benefits under this settlement. 

THE DEADLINE TO OPT-OUT OF THE SETTLEMENT IS DECEMBER 11, 2024. 

If you want to Opt-Out of the Settlement Class, you must submit your Request for Exclusion by either (1) submitting an exclusion form on this Website at the link below which requires a valid email address, or (2) submitting by mail a written Request for Exclusion or your may print and mail the Opt-Out Form by clicking HERE. If you Opt-Out of the Settlement Class, you will not be allowed to object to this Settlement or submit a Claim Form. The Request for Exclusion must be personally completed and submitted by the Class Member or his attorney.  One person may not opt someone else out, and so-called “mass” or “class” opt-outs shall not be permitted or recognized.  If you validly Opt-Out of the Settlement Class, but later decide you would like to participate in the Settlement, you may still participate in the Settlement by filing a Claim Form and withdrawing your opt-out election before March 3, 2025, the date of the Final Approval Hearing.

If you wish to Opt-Out, you must complete and submit an exclusion form no later than December 11, 2024 (35 days after this Notice), by completing the Opt-Out form and submitting it through the link below, or by downloading a copy of the form, completing it and sending it by mail (postmarked no later than December 11, 2024) to Smirk’s-Molinos “Crumbles” Settlement, P.O. Box 361930, Hoover, AL 35236-1930.

PLEASE NOTE, IF YOU OPTED OUT OF THE DH/SGF SETTLEMENT CLASS, YOU MUST SUBMIT A SEPARATE REQUEST TO EXCLUDE YOURSELF (OPT-OUT) OF THIS SMIRK’S-MOLINOS SETTLEMENT.

Online Opt-Out Form (you must have a valid email address)

C. OBJECT TO THE SMIRK’S-MOLINOS SETTLEMENT

If you want to tell the Court about why you don’t like the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement, you can send a written objection to the Court and to the Settlement Administrator showing the basis for your objection.  If you exclude yourself from the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement, you cannot also object to it.

To be effective, an Objection must be in writing and include:

  1. a reference to this case name, number, and court, Breeanne Buckley Peni, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, v. Daily Harvest, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-05443-DLC (S.D.N.Y);
  2. your name, address, telephone number, and, if available, email address, and, if you are represented by counsel, your counsel’s name, address, telephone number, and email;
  3. a written statement of all grounds for the Objection, accompanied by any legal support for such Objection;
  4. a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel;
  5. a statement of facts that establish your membership in the Class, including all information required by the Claim Form;
  6. a detailed list of all other objections submitted by you, or your counsel, to any class action settlement in any court in the United States in the previous five (5) years; and
  7. your signature, even if the objection is submitted through counsel, and if you are represented by counsel, the signature of your attorney.

If you or your counsel have not objected to any other class action settlement in any court in the United States in the previous five (5) years, you must affirmatively state that fact in the written materials provided in connection with the Objection to this Settlement. This information is material to the Court’s consideration of your Objection; failure to include this information and documentation shall be grounds for striking and/or overruling the Objection, even if the Objection is otherwise timely submitted to the Settlement Administrator. You must send copies of all documents you file with the Court to the Clerk of Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007.

ANY OBJECTION MUST BE POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE THE OBJECTION DEADLINE OF JANUARY 21, 2025, and sent to the Clerk of Court at United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007 and to the Settlement Administrator at P.O. Box 361930, Hoover, AL 35236-1930.

The Objection Deadline may be extended without further direct notice to you.  Any extended deadlines will be posted on this Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement Website. Please continue to check this Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement Website for updates.

More information regarding how to Object to the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement can be found in the Settlement Agreement, Notice and Preliminary Approval documents in the Pleadings and Important Documents tab of this Website.

D. GO TO A HEARING ON MARCH 3, 2025

The Court will hold a hearing on March 3, 2025, to determine whether to approve the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement. The hearing will be held in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, before the Honorable Denise Cote, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007, at 2:00 PM EST, in Courtroom 18B, or such other judge assigned by the Court.

The hearing is open to the public. This hearing date may change without further notice to you. Consult this Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement Website case available through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”) (http://pacer.gov), for updated information on the hearing date and time.

If you timely submit a written objection, you may ask to speak in Court about the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement.

If you want to speak to the Court regarding an objection to the Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing, you must submit that objection in writing, including your intention to appear, by the Objection Deadline, which is January 21, 2025, unless extended, to the Clerk of Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York 10007, postmarked or filed via the Court’s electronic filing system (ECF).

If you fail to comply with these requirements or fail to submit your Objection and statement of intention to appear by the January 21, 2025 deadline, unless extended, you may be deemed to have waived all objections and may not be entitled to speak at the Final Approval Hearing on March 3, 2025.

You do not need to appear at the Final Approval Hearing to have your objections considered or take any other action to indicate your approval of the Settlement Agreement.

E. DO NOTHING

If you choose to do nothing (and you did not already submit a claim form in the DH/SGF Settlement), you will get no benefits under this Smirk’s-Molinos Settlement, as well as give up any rights to be a part of any other lawsuit against the Settling Defendants about the legal claims in this case.