Non-ESOP Plan Data Subject to Discovery

Plaintiffs can have access to data on executive, officer, and board compensation; board minutes relating to the creation of an ESOP and other business plans; plan fiduciary meeting minutes; and data on other retirement plans, if these data are relevant to claims that the ESOP overpaid for stock. The decision came in Beauchem v. Rockford Products Corp. (N.D. Ill., No. 1, C 50134, 1/24/02). Beauchem is charging that the ESOP at Rockford Products overpaid for the shares, that the company both took actions to conceal the overcharge and failed to restore plan losses.