Stay informed on the latest legal developments impacting employee ownership. This page provides timely and concise summaries of key cases and rulings, contributed by experienced attorneys, to help the entire employee ownership community understand their implications, and also offers access to NCEO's archive of prior content.
Christopher Wingard
Dalton et al. v. Freeman et al., No. 2:22-cv-00847-DJC (E.D. Cal.)
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California has partially denied Alerus Financial N.A.’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint alleging fiduciary breaches in connection with a series of ESOP transactions.
Alan H. Kandel
Trull v. Board of Trustees of the McCreary Modern, Inc. ESOP, No. 5:25-CV-00011-KDB-SCR (W.D.N.C. Oct. 1, 2025)
On October 1, 2025, a motion to dismiss was granted in Trull v. Board of Trustees of the McCreary Modern, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Lauren Wood
Bowers, et al. v. Russell, et al., No. 1:22-cv-10457-PBS (D. Mass. Sep. 5, 2025)
For details on the initial procedural ruling that allowed the claims to proceed, see the original entry at: Case Over Valuation of Terminated ESOP Shares Can Continue.
A district court in Massachusetts approved a partial $3 million settlement with one of the company’s board of directors in a class action lawsuit against the Russelectric ESOP.
Christopher Wingard
Davis v. United Bank Corporation Retirement Plan Committee, No. 5:24-cv-00328-MTT (M.D. Ga. Sep 23, 2025)
United Bank Corporation has reached a tentative $2 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit brought by former employees claiming ERISA violations related to the forced liquidation of ESOP shares into cash at an allegedly improper price.
Matthew Goedert
Taylor v. BDO U.S., P.C., Civil Action 25-10128 (D. Mass. Aug 21, 2025)
In Taylor v. BDO USA, P.C., plaintiff Tristin Taylor, a participant in the BDO USA Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), brought a putative class action under ERISA alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties when the ESOP allegedly overpaid for BDO stock.
Christopher Wingard
Bowers + Kubota Consulting, Inc. v. Hansen Et Al., No. 1CCV-240000446 (KTM) (D.C. Haw., June 10, 2025)
Bowers + Kubota Consulting, Inc. v. Hansen Et Al., No. 1CCV-240000446 (KTM) (D.C. Haw., September 23, 2025)
A district judge granted summary judgment for attorney Greg Hansen in the valuation case involving Bowers and Kubota, a Hawaii architecture firm (the “company”).
Rick Pearl
Szalanski v. Arnold, et al., 2025 WL 1726222 (W.D. Wis., June 20, 2025)
On June 20, 2025, a federal district court in Wisconsin dismissed an employee’s lawsuit challenging the sale of PDQ, a partially ESOP-owned company, to a third party buyer.
Rick Pearl
Su v. Bensen, No. CV-19-03178-PHX-ROS, 2025 WL 1634940 (D. Ariz. June 9, 2025)
In August of 2024, a federal district court entered judgment in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) favor and against certain defendants in a case involving RVR, Inc., d/b/a Cruise America, and the RVR Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). The judge determined that the $105 million ESOP transaction was overvalued by $72 million.
Lauren Wood
Lloyd v. Argent Trust, No. 1:22-cv-04129-DLC (S.D. NY, July 10, 2025)
On July 10, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York allowed plaintiffs to amend their original complaint to add the trustees and beneficiaries of two trusts as defendants. These trusts received proceeds from a 2016 sale to the WBBQ Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which is the subject of the plaintiffs’ suit. The newly added trusts are now possible sources of recovery for the plaintiffs.
Christopher Wingard
MacTaggert v. Professional Fiduciary Servs., LLC, No. 22-cv-371-wmc, (W.D. Wis. June 18, 2025)
On June 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin dismissed a class action lawsuit brought by Scott MacTaggert, a participant in the Extreme Engineering Solutions, Inc. ESOP.
