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 Foster v. Adams & Assocs., Inc., No. 3:18-cv-02723-JSC, N.D. Cal., Feb. 26, 2019), a district court ruled that employees can proceed with a lawsuit alleging the ESOP at Adams & Associates overpaid for the shares and that the trustee for the plan, a former felon, should not have been appointed.
Corey Rosen
In Fentress v. Exxon Mobil, No. 4:16-cv-03484 (S.D. Tex, Feb. 4, 2019) a district court again rejected employee claims over the decline in Exxon Mobil stock price in their 401(k) plan.
Corey Rosen
In Acosta v. Saakvitne, No. 18-2019 BL18093 (D. Haw., Jan. 18, 2019), a district court denied motions to dismiss both the company, Bowers + Kubota Consulting, and the sellers to the company’s ESOP, for their alleged roles as fiduciaries.
Corey Rosen
In Cunningham v. Wawa, No. 2:18-cv-03355 (E.D. Pa., Feb. 18, 2019), Wawa partially agreed to allow plaintiffs to proceed with their action as a class, but reserved the right to challenge whether named plaintiffs are representative and whether affirmative defenses apply to any individuals.
Corey Rosen
In Vigeant v. Meek, No. 18-3616 (Eighth Cir., Feb. 26, 2019), the DOL entered an amicus brief on the side of plaintiffs appealing a previous district court ruling saying that plaintiffs in the Lifetouch ESOP case did not adequately plead that the plan’s fiduciaries had violated their ERISA duties with respect to an alleged overvaluation and continued purchase of Lifetouch shares.
Corey Rosen
Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, No. 17-3518, (2nd Cir., Feb. 4, 2019): The Second Circuit refused a request by IBM to put a case on hold in which the Court had previously ruled that plaintiffs in a stock drop suit could rely on a more favorable interpretation of the Dudenhoeffer standard.
Corey Rosen
The 2017 tax bill contained provisions that allowed employees in private companies that provide non-qualified stock options and restricted stock units to at least 80% of their workforce to defer taxation on the awards until up to five years after termination.
Corey Rosen
In Acosta v. Saakvitne, No. 1:18-cv-00155-SOM-RLP, (D. Haw. inclinations Jan. 13, 2019) a district judge told counsels that she was inclined to rule that two owners of a Hawaii construction company that sold to an ESOP could be considered fiduciaries of the plan because they hired and were responsible for monitoring the appraisal firm and failed to provide realistic financial projections.
Corey Rosen
In Cunningham v. Wawa, Inc., No. 2:18-cv-03355-PD (E.D. Pa., Ja. 10, 2019), a judge allowed a lawsuit against Wawa over changes in its ESOP to move forward.
Corey Rosen
In Acosta v. Reliance Trust, No. 0:17-cv-04540- SRN-ECW (D-Mon. Ja. 7, 2019), a district court ruled that Reliance Trust could not bring the estate of a now deceased owner into a lawsuit the DOL has filed against Reliance in a case involving an alleged overvaluation of shares for sale to the ESOP.
