CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — A federal judge gave final approval to a nearly $1.2 million settlement of the four-year lawsuit involving more than 100 Latino workers that were detained by federal law enforcement in 2018 after a raid at a Tennessee meatpacking plant, Southeastern Provision.

The settlement shows that class action members of the lawsuit would receive $550,000. Numbers from the initial settlement announcement in October 2022 estimated that each of the nearly 100 class members would receive $5,000 to $6,000. 

Six plaintiffs named in the settlement will receive $475,000 from the federal government to resolve Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claims, including excessive force and unlawful arrests. The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) will receive $150,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses.

The initial incident occurred in April 2018 when US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other local law enforcement officials raided the Southeastern Provisions LLC plant in Bean Station, Tenn. 

Shortly after the raid, James Brantley, owner of Southeastern Provision, pled guilty to two counts of tax evasion, one count of wire fraud and one count of employment of undocumented workers. 

The NILC and SPLC filed the initial lawsuit along with other non-profit organizations in Feb. 2019. 

In July 2020, former employees of Southeastern Provisions received $610,000 in back pay and damages, according to a consent order filed in federal court.