On November 7, Judge Joan N. Ericksen of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota dismissed a lawsuit filed by Lifetouch ESOP participants who claimed that they were not protected against losses as the photography company faced challenges to its business model. The stock in Lifetouch's ESOP declined in value by $840 million from 2015 to 2018. The judge ruled that the decline in stock value was a "result one would expect from lawful conduct," and further ruled against the plaintiffs' that Lifetouch's stock was too risky for a retirement plan. Many such "stock-drop" lawsuits have been won by defendants since the 2014 Supreme Court case Dudenhoeffer v. Fifth Third, but this case is different from most because it involved a privately held company.