Stay informed on the latest legal developments impacting employee ownership. This page provides timely and concise summaries of key cases and rulings, contributed by experienced attorneys, to help the entire employee ownership community understand their implications, and also offers access to NCEO's archive of prior content.
Corey Rosen
A $580,000 settlement was reached in Arnold v. Paredes, No. 3:23-cv-00545 (M.D. Tenn., Apr. 17, 2025). Plaintiffs at Churchill Mortgage, an 800-employee company, alleged that part of the dividends paid on shares held by the 100% ESOP were used to offset required employer contributions to the plan.
Corey Rosen
A district court ruled on all counts for defendants in a case involving the sale of the Segerdahl Corporation.
Corey Rosen
A settlement has been reached in Jackson v. New England Biolabs Inc., No. 1:23-cv-12208-RGS (Feb. 14, 2025). The company had an ESOP until 2013, which it converted to a profit-sharing plan.
Corey Rosen
In Lysengen v. Argent Trust, et al., No. 1:20-cv-01177MMM-JEH (D.C. Ill. May 9, 2025), a court approved a $4 million settlement in a lawsuit over a 50% drop in the value of Morton Buildings in the year following the company’s taking on debt to fund the ESOP. The plan initially owned a minority of the shares in the company.
Corey Rosen
Employees challenge AMPAM ESOP sale, alleging overpayment and management control of the trustee. Court allows most claims to proceed.
Corey Rosen
In Dalton v. Freeman, No. 2:22-cv-00847-DJC-DB (E.D. Cal. Mar. 24, 2025), a court ruled plaintiffs had not pled a specific enough case against Alerus, which was acting as a trustee at O.C. Communications when the ESOP company was sold.
Corey Rosen
In Solid Ground Transportation v. Commissioner, No. 24-1184 (Mar. 18, 2025), the 7th Circuit dismissed a petition from Solid Grant Transportation over the potential disqualification of its ESOP. The company received a letter from an IRS agent with questions about its plan from 2013 to 2018.
Corey Rosen
In Schultz v. Aerotech, Inc., No. 24-618 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 20, 2025), a court allowed a case to proceed over how an ESOP company invested cash in the trust. Plaintiffs allege the cash was too conservatively invested.
Corey Rosen
In Hensiek v. Bd. of Dirs. of Casino Queen Holding Co., 20-cv-377-DWD (S.D. Ill. Feb. 25, 2025), employees of Illinois-based Casino Queen Inc. received final court approval for a $7.1 million settlement resolving litigation over the company’s employee stock ownership plan.
Corey Rosen
In Harrison v. Envision Management, a court confirmed a magistrate’s earlier ruling against the Department of Labor (DOL) in a case in which the plaintiff’s law firm received information from the DOL under a common interest agreement, even though the DOL was not a party to the suit.
