The Lewis tobacco settlement is a roughly $70 million trust set up to pay former members of the U.S. Tobacco Cooperative whose memberships were cancelled in 2004 and 2005. It resolved a 16-year class action through the cooperative’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and checks have been going out since September 27, 2024, with a second round on June 19, 2025.1ElevenFlo. US Tobacco Cooperative Lewis Class Action Settlement
Who Qualifies for a Payment
Eligibility runs to former members of the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation (later U.S. Tobacco Cooperative) whose memberships were cancelled between 2004 and 2005. In practice, that meant flue-cured tobacco farmers in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida who held an “FC Number” and could document sales through the cooperative. Heirs of deceased members could also claim, if they submitted a probated will, letters testamentary, or similar legal documentation.2NC State Extension, Pitt County. Lewis Tobacco Settlement Payments Expected
Landowners and sharecroppers who did not personally hold a cooperative membership generally did not qualify.3UGA Extension, Ben Hill County. Lewis Tobacco Settlement Payments Expected in July 2023
The Claim Deadline Has Passed
Claims closed on December 12, 2022. About 19,000 requests came in, 18,265 formal proofs of claim were filed, and after trustee objections 6,449 claims were ultimately allowed.4Omni Agent Solutions. USTC Bankruptcy Court Filing, Case No. 21-01511-JNC5NC State Extension, Pitt County. Lewis Tobacco Settlement Enter Final Phase The bankruptcy court has consistently rejected late-filed claims, finding no good cause for delay.1ElevenFlo. US Tobacco Cooperative Lewis Class Action Settlement If you didn’t file by December 2022, there is no route back in.
How Payments Are Calculated
Allowed claims fall into three categories, and a single claimant may have more than one:
- Membership fee claims, based on fees paid to join the cooperative.
- 1967–1973 capital equity credit claims, based on credits earned during those crop years.
- 1982–2004 proceeds claims, the largest category, tied to pounds of flue-cured tobacco the claimant marketed during crop years 2000 through 2004.1ElevenFlo. US Tobacco Cooperative Lewis Class Action Settlement
The $70 million pool is divided pro rata across all allowed claims. Your check depends on the size of your own claim and on how many total claims got approved, so the trustees have emphasized that resolving any one claim affects everyone else’s share.5NC State Extension, Pitt County. Lewis Tobacco Settlement Enter Final Phase
Where the Money Stands Now
Two distributions have gone out: the first on September 27, 2024, and the second on June 19, 2025. Omni Agent Solutions, based in Los Angeles, is the claims and noticing agent that actually cuts and mails the checks.6Omni Agent Solutions. Lewis Certified Settlement Class Trust
The main thing still holding money up is tax paperwork. Every claimant has to file a valid IRS Form W-9 before any check can be released. As of December 17, 2025, roughly $4.2 million was still blocked because 128 claimants had not returned a W-9, despite three separate solicitations from the trustees in May 2024, September 2024, and August 2025.7Omni Agent Solutions. Notice of Second Solicitation and Report of Compliance That is down from 430 deficient claimants a year earlier, but the remaining holdouts have been slow to comply. If you have an allowed claim and haven’t seen a payment, a missing or invalid W-9 is the first thing to check.
The bankruptcy court is also still handling housekeeping like reissuing stale or lost checks. Reissuance orders were entered as recently as December 2025.8Omni Agent Solutions. Lewis Certified Settlement Class Trust Documents
What the Case Was About
The litigation started in early 2005 with two lawsuits filed in Wake County Superior Court in North Carolina by Dan Lewis, Daniel H. Lewis Farms, Inc., Kaye W. Fisher, and other farmers.9Omni Agent Solutions. Ex Parte Motion for Order Appointing Successor Trustees The farmers alleged the cooperative had wrongfully cancelled the memberships of hundreds of thousands of members by telling them they had to sign new exclusive-sales contracts for the 2005 crop or lose their membership. The plaintiffs said memberships were guaranteed for life and could not be cancelled without a hearing, and they characterized the cancellations as a “last man standing” scheme that funneled collectively built reserves to a shrinking pool of remaining members.10vLex. Fisher v. Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corp.
Rather than see the case through trial, U.S. Tobacco Cooperative filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 7, 2021, staying a pending state court hearing.1ElevenFlo. US Tobacco Cooperative Lewis Class Action Settlement A global settlement was reached on February 2, 2022, and the reorganization plan became effective on July 14, 2022, creating the Lewis Certified Settlement Class Trust as a Qualified Settlement Fund under federal tax law.4Omni Agent Solutions. USTC Bankruptcy Court Filing, Case No. 21-01511-JNC
How to Reach the Settlement Administrator
Questions about a check, a missing W-9, or a lost or stale-dated payment go to Omni Agent Solutions. The toll-free line is 866-989-3039, and the direct check-verification line is 818-906-8300. Email is USTCLewisSettlementClass@omniagnt.com.6Omni Agent Solutions. Lewis Certified Settlement Class Trust The trust is still active and remains under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.