Author Description

Litigation has been an ongoing concern for the ESOP community. To many advocates, much of the litigation activity is unwarranted. On the other hand, there are people in the Department of Labor (DOL) and a few plaintiff law firms who believe that ESOPs are inherently too risky and that they are too often set up more to benefit selling owners than employees. This book looks at what we can learn from trends in ESOP litigation in the last few years. Chapter 1 examines the costs of ESOP litigation in private companies over the last 10 years. Chapter 2 summarizes the important cases in ESOP litigation in the last five years. Chapter 3 argues that litigation by the DOL and the plaintiff’s bar has discouraged some trustees from working in this field. Chapter 4 discusses a notable recent case involving a sale to an ESOP where the court ruled decisively for the defendants.