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
In Harrison v. Envision Management Holding Company, No. 22-1098 (D.C. Colo. Jan. 25, 2025), a district court certified a class in an ESOP valuation case. The plaintiff had alleged that the ESOP overpaid for the shares. The plan contained an arbitration clause, which Envision sought to enforce.
Corey Rosen
In Colon v. Johnson, No. 8:22-cv-00888-TPB-TGW (Dec. 17, 2024), a $19 million settlement was given final approval in a case alleging diversion of assets in an ESOP company.
Corey Rosen
In Su v. Peterson et al., No. 4:19-cv-00705 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 8, 2025), parties reached a $14 million settlement in a case involving the sale of an ESOP company. The plaintiffs alleged a trustee for the company, which operated as All My Sons Moving & Storage, allowed a sale of the assets of the ESOP trust back to the company at a price that was below what the stock was worth.
Corey Rosen
In Lloyd v. Argent Trust, No. 22-3116 (2d Cir. Jan. 6, 2025), the Second Circuit granted an unopposed motion to keep an ESOP case in court despite an arbitration clause in the plan.
Corey Rosen
In Placht v. Argent et al., No. 1:21-cv5783 D (N.D. Ill. Jan. 8, 2025), a court gave final approval for a settlement agreement in an ESOP valuation case against Argent Trust, the trustee for the ESOP at Symbria.
Corey Rosen
In a strongly worded letter, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC, chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, says that the Department of Labor (DOL) abused its authority when it shared information from an ongoing investigation of Envision Radiology’s ESOP with the law firm Cohen Milstein, which is acting as the counsel for the plaintiffs in an ESOP valuation lawsuit against the trustee, selling share-holders, and individuals at the company.
Corey Rosen
In Tufano v. Pride Mobility, No. 3:24-cv-00765-KMA (M.D. Penn. Dec. 12, 2024) the parties have submitted a settlement agreement to the court. Plaintiffs sued over the company’s investing cash assets in the ESOP only in low-yield cash investments.
Corey Rosen
Most ESOP companies have 401(k) plans, so a recent IRS private letter ruling (PLR 202434006) may be of interest.
Corey Rosen
In Su v. Alerus Fin., N.A., No. 1:23-cv-00537-DCN (D. Idaho Nov. 4, 2024), the Department of Labor (DOL) plausibly alleged that Alerus, the trustee for the ESOP at Norco, improperly approved a valuation in a transaction in which Norco’s ESOP paid more than $140 million for a 35% stake in the company.
Corey Rosen
On October 7, 2024, the Supreme Court denied an appeal of the denial of an arbitration clause in an ESOP.
