Crumbles Settlement

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

SETTLEMENT UPDATE

March 31, 2025, Settlement Update

The Settlement Administrator is currently in the process of reviewing all submitted claims for Category 1-4 deficiencies. If you have any deficiencies (other than for Category 5 (extraordinary damages)), you will receive a deficiency notice in April 2025. You will have 20 days from the date of your deficiency notice to cure any deficiencies listed on your notice.

It is estimated that all Category 1-4 deficiency responses will be due around the end of April 2025 and the beginning of May 2025. The Settlement Administrator will then need to review these deficiencies. Due to the unexpected volume of deficiencies, it is estimated that our review of deficiency responses will be completed in June 2025. During this time, we will be completing our initial review of the Category 5 special enhancement submittals. Our initial review will include the creation of the Category 5 scoring grid that will be shared with all Category 5 applicants for vetting.

After the Category 1 deficiency review process is completed, we can begin to finalize our award determinations. Category 1 Award Determinations are expected to go out in May 2025.

After the Category 2-4 deficiency review process is completed, we are estimating Category 2-4 initial scoring will be completed in June 2025, with Category 2-4 Award Determination letters estimated to begin to go out in July 2025.

Your Category 1-4 Award Determination letter will include information on the various payment methods available to you, and how to report your chosen payment method, and the applicable information required for your chosen payment method, to the Settlement Administrator.

After you receive your Category 1-4 Award Determination letter, you will have 20 days from the date of your letter to file an Appeal with the Settlement Administrator, that will need to include (1) the reason you are appealing, and (2) the evidence you are submitting to support your appeal. It is estimated that the Category 1 claimant Appeal Deadline will be in June 2025, and the Category 2-4 Claimant Appeal Deadline will be in August 2025, with Appeal Determination letters being sent within 20 days of our office receiving the Appeal, or in July 2025 for Category 1 claimant Appeals, and September 2025 for Category 2-4 claimant Appeals.

After you receive your Appeal Determination letter, you will have fourteen (14) days from the date of the letter, to appeal the Settlement Administrator’s Determination with the Court

After the Appeal Deadline has passed, the Settlement Administrator will calculate the number of Approved Claimants in each Category to determine the proper award amount for each Category. Any unused amounts in Categories 1-4 will go toward the Category 5 special enhancement fund per the terms of the Settlement, and Category 5 funds will be used for any Category 2-4 shortfalls.

It is estimated that Category 1 award amount calculation will be completed in June 2025, with Category payments expected to begin in August 2025. Because Category 1 claimants did not seek medical treatment for their injuries, Category 1 claimants will only be required to go through the lien resolution process, and will only need to be vetted with Medicare for Medicare. As a result, Category 1 claimant payments will go out before the other Categories.

After final award amounts have been calculated for Categories 2-4, lien resolution and payment processing can begin for Category 2-4 claimant who did not apply for Category 5 Special Enhancement review. It is estimated that Category 2-4 payments will begin to go out in batches in November 2025 as individual claimant liens are resolved.

During this time, the Category 5 Special Enhancement review will be ongoing, including review of any deficiencies and creation of the Proposed Category 5 Grading Scale. It is estimated that the initial review of Category 5 claims will be completed in May 2025, and Category 5 deficiency notices will go out at the end of May 2025.

You will have 20 days from the date of your Category 5 deficiency notice to cure any deficiencies listed on your notice. It is estimated that all Category 5 deficiency responses will be due in June 2025.

After the initial review of Category 5 claims and the creation of the Proposed Category 5 Grading Scale is completed, Category 5 applicants will be invited to individual Zoom meetings with the Settlement Administrator, and their attorney, if applicable, to discuss their extraordinary damages.

Prior to the meeting, we will send Category 5 applicants a simple email, explaining the parameters of the extraordinary damages claims based on the written description in the Court approved matrix.

It is estimated that Zoom scheduling will begin in August 2025 and be completed by the end of August 2025.

After the Category 5 Zoom meetings have been completed for Category 5 applicants requesting one, we will revise the draft extraordinary damages grading scale and share it with the Category 5 claimants on a de-identified basis for their feedback, to be requested within 20 days.

Then, Category 5 claimants will receive their Category 5 Award Determination letter. It is estimated that Category 5 Award Determination letters will begin to go out in September 2025.

After you receive your Category 5 Award Determination letter, you will have 20 days from the date of your letter to file an Appeal with the Settlement Administrator, that will need to include (1) the reason you are appealing, and (2) the evidence you are submitting to support your appeal. It is estimated that the Category 5 claimant Appeal Deadline will be in October 2025, with Appeal Determination letters going out within 20 days of our receipt of your Appeal, or the end of October 2025.

After you receive your Appeal Determination letter, you will have fourteen (14) days from the date of the letter, to appeal the Settlement Administrator’s Determination with the Court

After Category 5 Appeals Deadline has passed, lien resolution and payment processing can begin for Category 5 claimants. It is estimated that Category 5 claimant payments will begin to go out in batches in December 2025 as individual claimant liens are resolved. After all Category award amounts have been finalized, and Qualified Class Members are determined, if any amounts remain in the Qualified Settlement Fund after the Settlement Administrator applies the Allocation Matrix, or any later payment of Hold-Back amounts back into the Fund, additional payment may be paid to Qualified Class Members on a pro rata basis, if practicable.

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 Daily Harvest, Inc. and Second Bite Foods, Inc. d/b/a “Stone Gate Foods” (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.

This page of the 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 Settlement. This notice may affect your rights.  Please read it carefully.

Likewise, the Class Notice as well as other important pleadings and information about the Lawsuit and the proposed 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 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 $22,999,000 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 Settlement, but for the precise terms and conditions of the 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 October 15, 2024; 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.   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 SEPTEMBER 2, 2024.

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.

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 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 JULY 24, 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. To submit a written Request for Exclusion by mail, you can click HERE to print the Opt-Out Form to complete and sign for mailing. 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 October 15, 2024, the date of the Final Approval Hearing.

If you wish to Opt-Out, you must complete and submit an exclusion form no later than July 24, 2024 (35 days after this Notice), sent by mail (postmarked no later than July 24, 2024) to Daily Harvest “Crumbles” Settlement, P.O. Box 361930, Hoover, AL 35236-1930.

C. OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT

If you want to tell the Court about why you don’t like the 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 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. and Stone Gate Foods, 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 SEPTEMBER 2, 2024, 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.

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

More information regarding how to Object to the 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 OCTOBER 15, 2024

The Court will hold a hearing on October 15, 2024, to determine whether to approve the 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 3:00 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 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 Settlement.

If you want to speak to the Court regarding an objection to the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing, you must submit that objection in writing, including your intention to appear, by the Objection Deadline, which is September 2, 2024, 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 deadline September 2, 2024, unless extended, you may be deemed to have waived all objections and may not be entitled to speak at the Final Approval Hearing on October 15, 2024.

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, you will get no benefits under this 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.