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
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.
Christopher Wingard
At the motion to dismiss stage, a North Carolina federal district court permitted most ERISA fiduciary-breach claims, brought by former Hollandia Produce Group, Inc.’s employees on behalf of the company’s ESOP, to proceed against GreatBanc Trust Company (the ESOP trustee); Mosaic Capital Investors I, LP; True West Capital Partners Fund II, L.P.; certain other defendants; and attorney Michael Zeller.
Lauren Wood
The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in the ongoing action arising from the termination of ISCO Industries’ Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In 2012, the Kirchdorfer family sold all the shares of ISCO Industries, Inc. (ISCO) to the ESOP for approximately $98 million.
Allison Wilkerson
On February 3, 2026, a court granted preliminary approval of the parties’ proposed class settlement in LeDuc et al. v. Paredes et al., allowing an $8.75 million ACCT ESOP settlement to proceed to notice and final approval.
David Joffe
The plaintiffs in this case filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging that the trustee of the company’s ESOP and certain individuals breached their fiduciary duties by overpaying for the company's stock. The trustee asserted that the plaintiff’s claims were subject to arbitration. In Robertson v. Argent Trust Company
Christopher Wingard
A federal district court in the Central District of California has allowed several ERISA claims to move forward in a class action suit brought by ESOP participant Gustavo Moran against the ESOP Committee of the Aluminum Precision Products, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
