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 »
Judy Burdg
On October 13, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned its 1985 decision in Mason v. Continental Group, Inc., 763 F.2d 1219 (11th Cir. 1985), which imposed a mandatory administrative exhaustion requirement for all statutory claims (including those alleging a breach of fiduciary duty) brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”).
Amanda Munguia
A federal court granted preliminary approval of a settlement in a seven-count class action lawsuit arising from a 2019 transaction in which the AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “ESOP”) bought the stock of AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc. (the “Company” or “AMPAM”).
José Jara
A federal appeals court ruled that a financial firm hired to help create an ESOP owed fiduciary duties under federal securities law, even though its contract with the company disclaimed any fiduciary relationship.
Rachel Owsley
A federal district court in Minnesota has granted final approval to a class action settlement in a case alleging that the TPI Hospitality, Inc. ESOP sold its shares for less than fair market value.
Allison Wilkerson
On March 27, 2026, Judge Marc T. Treadwell of the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia gave final approval to a $2 million class settlement resolving claims that former employees were pushed out of the United Bank Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan and paid too little for their shares on the way out.
Griffin O'Gara
On September 17, 2025, a federal district court in Tennessee granted final approval of an $850,000 settlement resolving ERISA claims brought by participants in the Churchill Holdings, Inc. ESOP.
Amanda Munguia
On December 5, 2023, a Virginia federal judge entered judgment in favor of Gannett following a bench trial that concluded more than five years of ERISA litigation. The lawsuit was brought by two participants in the Gannett Co., Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan, on behalf of themselves and a class of plan participants, against Gannett Co., Inc., the plan’s committee, and the committee’s individual members.
Wendy Gilligan
A federal court granted final approval of a settlement in a class action lawsuit arising from a 2016 transaction in which the W BBQ Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “ESOP”) bought stock of W BBQ Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”).
Christopher Wingard
On September 3, 2026, plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of a $5.55 million class action settlement with certain defendants in the ongoing litigation involving Russelectric Inc.’s ESOP. The case, filed in 2022 on behalf of former ESOP participants and the ESOP itself, alleged multiple breaches of ERISA fiduciary duties by defendants related to Russelectric Inc.’s redemption and termination of the ESOP in 2016 and the subsequent 2019 sale of the company.
Christopher Wingard
A federal district court in Washington has granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement in a case alleging that the BNBuilders, Inc. ESOP overpaid for BNBuilders, Inc.’s stock in a 2021 ESOP transaction.
