Stay informed on the latest legal developments impacting employee ownership with timely and concise summaries of key cases and rulings. Learn more about this digest »
Wendy Gilligan
ESOP participants Cheryl Haynes and Marcellus Garner (the “Plaintiffs”) filed a proposed class action on April 22, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama against Stephen C. James, the ESOP Trustee; their former employer, AlaTrade Foods Inc., and AlaTrade Foods Holdings Inc. (collectively, the “Company”); and selling shareholders Davis Lee and Beth Lee.
José Jara
A federal court in Illinois dismissed ERISA fiduciary breach and prohibited transaction claims brought by former executives against Meadowvale, Inc., its ESOP Committee, two company executives, and QHI, LLC, finding the complaint failed to plead that any defendant acted in a fiduciary capacity.
Christopher Wingard
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court judgment in favor of GreatBanc Trust Company and former directors and executives of the Segerdahl Corporation, rejecting claims that the defendants breached ERISA fiduciary duties.
José Jara
A former employee and ESOP participant, Christopher Dawson-Roberts, sued Norman S. Wright, its ESOP governing Committee, and three individual Committee members, who also served on the company’s board of directors.
Christopher Wingard
Following a bench trial, a Massachusetts federal court issued a mixed ruling in the long-running Russelectric ESOP litigation, finding in favor of plaintiffs on certain fiduciary breach claims while rejecting others.
Wendy Gilligan
On May 4, 2026, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin issued its decision in Daines v. IRS, granting the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) motion to dismiss an action brought by Jeffrey and Elisha Daines, Jeffrey and Stephanie Federwitz, their related entities, and the Solid Ground Transportation, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “Solid Ground ESOP”).
Tabitha Croscut
A Georgia federal judge ruled in favor of executives and board members at Technical Associates of Georgia, ending a class action brought by former employees who claimed company leaders secretly enriched themselves during a 2011 refinancing of the company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
Wendy Gilligan
On December 19, 2024, former Secretary of Labor, Julie A. Su, filed an action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case concerned a 2016 ESOP transaction where the W BBQ Holdings, Inc. ESOP (the “ESOP”) purchased 400,000 shares, worth an 80% stake in the company, financed with $92 million in seller debt to Herbert Wetanson, Gregor Wetanson, Stuart Wetanson and Joseph Shpigel.
José Jara
Asset manager Janus Henderson (“Janus”) has agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the firm of including in the Janus 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“Plan”) poor performing and expensive proprietary Janus mutual funds.
Christopher Wingard
The US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (the “Court”) denied a motion to dismiss filed by Gleason Research Associates, Inc. (the “Company”) and individual defendants in a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) alleging violations of ERISA.
