Employee Ownership Legal Digest

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.

Latest Cases

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November 07, 2025

Plaintiffs in North Highland ESOP Lawsuit Seek Approval of Class Settlement

Christopher Wingard

A proposed $2,375,000 settlement is pending approval in the class action lawsuit brought by former ESOP participants against Argent Trust Company, North Highland ESOP Holdings, Inc., North Highland Company, Inc. and other defendants.

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November 07, 2025

Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Fiduciary’s Failure to Report Breach of Duty within Statute of Limitations

Wendy Gilligan

On September 29, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina approved the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and dismissed the plaintiff’s fiduciary breach claims in a case in which the former President of the company and trustee of the company’s ESOP claimed the ESOP’s other fiduciaries breached their duties by allowing the misuse of corporate assets, undervaluing the company’s stock and negatively impacting his ESOP account by not making contributions, in addition to dividend payments, to fund the distribution of terminated participants’ ESOP benefits.

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October 21, 2025

Court Allows Certain Claims to Proceed in ESOP Lawsuit Against Alerus Financial

Christopher Wingard

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.

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Recommended Titles

ESOP and 401(k) Plan Employer Stock Litigation Review 1990-2025

Categorizes and summarizes litigation over company stock in ESOPs and 401(k) plans.

ESOP Regulatory Rulings 1990-2025

Categorizes and summarizes IRS and DOL rulings and regulations on ESOPs and related plans.

Meet Our Authors

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Alan H. Kandel

Alan H. Kandel is a Partner at Husch Blackwell specializing in Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation. He counsels a wide variety of clients—including ... »

Christopher Wingard

Chris is an associate in Kleinbard’s Business & Finance Practice. He advises corporations, shareholders, directors and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) ... »

Corey Rosen

NCEO founder and senior staff member

Griffin O'Gara

Griffin F. O'Gara is an Associate in Krieg DeVault's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice. Mr. O'Gara primarily devotes his practice to ... »

James G. Steiker

Jim is Co-Chair of Stevens & Lee's ESOP Group and Chairman of SES ESOP Strategies, with over 35 years of experience in ESOP design, transactions, and ... »

Lauren Wood

Lauren Wood, Associate Attorney at Employee Benefits Law Group PC Guidance, is involved in several areas of employee benefits with a primary focus on issues ... »