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.
Corey Rosen
In Plutzer v. Bankers Trust Company of South Dakota et. al., No. 22-561-cv (2nd Cir., Nov. 21, 2022) a court dismissed a claim against Bankers Trust of South Dakota, the trustee for the ESOP at Tharanco Group.
Corey Rosen
In IRS Notice 2022-45, the IRS extended plan amendment deadlines for compliance with two recent laws. These include...
Corey Rosen
In Ahrendsen, et al. v. Prudent Fiduciary Services, LLC, et al., No. 2:21-cv-02157 (E.D., PA, Nov. 7, 2022), the plaintiffs agreed to settle a lawsuit in dispute over the company’s ESOP valuation.
Corey Rosen
In Great American Fidelity Insurance Company v. Stout Risius Ross, Inc. et al., No. 2:19-cv-11294 (E.D. Mi, Nov. 1, 2022), a district court ruled the ESOP valuation firm Stout Risius must pay $60,000 in costs the company argued should have been covered by its insurer, Great American Fidelity Insurance Company.
Corey Rosen
In Walsh v. Robert N. Preston, TPP Holdings, No. 1:14-cv-04122-ELR (N.D. Ga., Sept. 20, 2022), a court ordered TPP Holdings and former owner Robert Preston to restore $540,000 to the ESOP over an alleged overvaluation of shares the plan bought in 2006 and 2008, as well as other violations.
Corey Rosen
In Gamino v. KPC Healthcare Holdings, Inc. et al., No. 5:20-V-01126-SB-SHK (C.D. Cal. Oct. 10, 2022), Alerus agreed to a $4 million settlement with KPC Healthcare in an ERISA valuation case.
Corey Rosen
In Best et al v. James., No. 320-cv-299-JRW (W.D. Ky., Sept. 22, 2022) a court ruled that plaintiffs must agree to arbitrate their claims against executives of ISCO Industries concerning the buyback of company shares from the ESOP. In a prior 2019 decision, Swain v. Wilmington Trust N.A., a federal judge approved a $5 million settlement with a class of employees at ISCO Industries who alleged the ESOP had overpaid for the shares.
Corey Rosen
In Radcliffe v. Aetna, Inc., 3:20-cv-01274-VAB (D. Conn. Sep. 30, 2022), CVS and Aetna defeated a claim that the defendants acted imprudently in not disclosing information about the financial risks facing CVS that emerged after the merger. CVS acquired Aetna in 2018.
Corey Rosen
In Eichhoff et. al. v. New Glarus Brewing (WI, No. 2021CV002011 (Cir. Ct., Dane County, Oct. 6, 2022), a Wisconsin court dismissed a lawsuit against ESOP-owned New Glarus Brewing over the price three of its early investors got when they sold their stock after the ESOP was formed.
Corey Rosen
In Perrone v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 21-1885 (3d Cir. Sept. 7, 2022) the Third Circuit ruled that the trustees of Johnson & Johnson’s 401(k) plan could reasonably argue that to remove Johnson & Johnson stock from the plan’s investment options in light of litigation over asbestos in its talcum powder could arguably have “done more harm than good” and thus were not obligated to make changes under the doctrine of the Dudenhoeffer decision.
