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 »
Corey Rosen
In Varga v. General Electric, No. 1:18-cv-01449-GLS-DJS (2nd Cir., Feb. 4, 2021), the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that the plaintiff did not show plausible alternative courses of actions that would have done more harm than good with respect to the drop in the value of GE stock in the company’s 401(k) plan.
Corey Rosen
In Gamino v. KPC Healthcare Holdings, Inc. et al., No. 5:20-CV-01126-SB-SHK (C.D. Cal. Jan. 15, 2021), a district court allowed employees of KPC Healthcare to proceed with their lawsuit over an alleged overvaluation of the shares their ESOP purchased.
Corey Rosen
In McMaken v. GreatBanc Tr. Co., No. 1:17-cv-04983 (N.D. Ill., Aug. 21, 2019) a district court ruled that GreatBanc cannot use a release signed by the plaintiff Michael McMaken from claims against Chemonics or any of its fiduciaries when he left the ESOP-owned firm Chemonics.
Corey Rosen
In Pizzella v. Vinoskey, No. 6:16-cv-00062, (W.D. Va., Aug. 2, 2019), a district court imposed a $6.5 million judgment in an ESOP valuation case. An ESOP had bought the remaining shares of Sentry Equipment in the transaction for $21 million.
Corey Rosen
In Cunningham v. Wawa, Inc., No. 19-8029, (3rd Cir., order granting petition to appeal, Aug. 13, 2019), Wawa convinced an appeals court to review a lower court ruling that certified a class of 1,000 who claimed they were improperly prevented from keeping their Wawa stock until they turned 68.
Corey Rosen
In Lee v. Argent Trust, No. 5:19-cv-00156-BO (W.D.N.C., Aug. 7, 2019) a district court ruled that a post-transaction drop in the value of Choate Construction’s ESOP stock value from $198 million to $65 million did not indicate a fiduciary violation by the plan’s trustee, Argent Trust.
Corey Rosen
In an Aug. 18, 2019, amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the case of Jander v. IBM, the Department of Labor argued that the proper standard for determining if a fiduciary should disclose insider information affecting company stock in a retirement plan should be what securities law requires.
Corey Rosen
In Cunningham v. Wawa et. al., No. 218-cv-03355-PD (E.D., Pa., July 2, 2019), over 1,000 former Wawa employees were granted class action in a lawsuit over changes in Wawa’s ESOP distribution rules.
Corey Rosen
In Zavala v. Kruse-Western, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-00239-DAD-SKO (E.D. Cal., July 26, 2019), a district court ruled that GreatBanc Trust and the board of Kruse-Western must defend themselves in a lawsuit over the 90% drop in stock price following a $244 million ESOP buyout.
Corey Rosen
In O’Day v. Chatila, No. 18-2621 (2nd Cir., June 7, 2019, unpublished), the Second Circuit affirmed a lowa court ruling stating that employees had not alleged a sufficient claim to overcome the Dudenhoeffer rule that plaintiffs must show that defendants had a plausible alternative course of action with regard to company stock investments in a retirement plan that would not have done more harm than good.
