The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 16, 2025, released its long-awaited proposed regulation interpreting the definition of "adequate consideration" as applied to private company stock acquired or sold by an employee...more
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas issued its written decision in Shipp v. Central States Manufacturing, Inc. on July 5, 2024, declining to dismiss the case against Central States Manufacturing Inc....more
In Plutzer v. Bankers Trust, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed dismissal by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York de novo; and emphasized that a plaintiff must allege concrete,...more
In Halperin v. Richards, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit considered whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempted certain state-law corporate liability claims against officers...more
8/24/2021
/ Breach of Duty ,
Business Valuations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Liability ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary ,
Financial Adviser ,
Preemption ,
State Law Claims
Courts have struggled through the years when considering the enforceability of mandatory class action waivers and arbitration provisions contained within Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plans and other...more
4/1/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
ERISA Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Compel ,
Split of Authority ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered summary judgment on July 6, 2020, in favor of defendants who sold stock to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and faced liability under the Employee...more
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has awarded the Sentry Equipment & Erectors Inc. Employee Store Ownership Plan (the ESOP) $6.5 million for the ESOP's overpayment for the founding shareholder's 52...more
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a U.S. District Court's application of deferential standard to the review of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) administrator's decision based on broad...more
9/5/2018
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Accrued Benefits ,
Appeals ,
Death Benefits ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Plan Administrators ,
Preemption ,
Standard of Review ,
Summary Judgment
• The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has ruled that the arbitration provision of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) does not apply to the plaintiff's class representative because she had "cashed...more
8/14/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Standing ,
Trustees
• Although the Supreme Court's recent decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis was not a case under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Court's analysis indicates that it would likely reject an...more
5/24/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
ESOP ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit's Aug. 25, 2016, decision in Allen v. GreatBanc Trust Co., No. 15-3569, made it the first court in a published opinion to expressly reject Fifth Third Bancorp v....more
9/20/2016
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Reversal ,
Special Circumstances Doctrine ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Stocks ,
Trustees