Podcast: Discussing and Demystifying the IRS News Release on ESOPs
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
Investment Management Update – Exit Strategies
ESOPs: A Path to Bank Independence
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) went into effect January 1, 2024, imposing significant reporting obligations for millions of privately held entities, called Reporting Companies. ...more
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), which became effective on January 1, 2024, requires that many businesses report a significant amount of information about the company and its “beneficial owners” to a federal database....more
On November 28, three participants in Central States Manufacturing, Inc.’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) filed a complaint on their own behalf and on behalf of other ESOP participants against the company, its board of...more
ESOPs can pay fair market value for the stock: Stock purchased by an ESOP must be appraised by an independent third party expert working with a trustee for the ESOP who must also be independent from the seller. The ESOP is...more
On July 27, 2022, Faegre Drinker filed an amicus brief on behalf of The ESOP Association in the pending Ninth Circuit appeal in Walsh v. Bowers, et al. The brief supports an award of attorneys’ fees and costs against the...more
On May 5, 2022, McDermott Partner Erin Turley delivered a presentation during the 2022 TEA National Conference titled “Understanding a Trustee’s Role in Management Incentive Plans.” Her presentation focused on the trustee’s...more
“Would I ever leave this company? Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they...more
A recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision serves as a warning to policyholders: read your entire policy, understand each provision and confirm that the policy language accurately reflects your understanding of the...more
The decisions you make in response to the global pandemic will have lasting impacts on your business and your workforce. Join members of our ESOP team each Thursday for this webinar series designed to help you navigate and...more
On the same day that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed a lawsuit against the Farmers National Bank of Danville (FNB) and the Weddle Brothers Construction Company Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the parties agreed...more
In Lee v. Argent Trust Co., the court dismissed ERISA claims challenging an ESOP stock transaction because the plaintiff, who “fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the” ESOP transaction, did not allege that she suffered...more
Gregory J. Nowak, a partner and practice leader for hedge funds in Pepper Hamilton’s Funds Services Practice Group, hosts a monthly webinar series for West LegalEdcenter. This month, Mr. Nowak, is joined by Richard Juliano,...more
• 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
• The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a fifth settlement agreement with the trustee of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). The agreement was entered into in connection with a recently settled case relating to...more
• The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) closed out 2017 by entering into yet another settlement agreement with the trustee of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). • The latest agreement (the Alpha Agreement) requires Alpha...more
On the heels of a recent settlement agreement with an institutional employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trustee, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and individual trustee James F. Joyner III (Joyner) entered into a...more
• The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and First Bankers Trust Services Inc. (FBTS) have entered into a settlement agreement filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, resolving a case challenging FBTS'...more
Editor's Overview - Welcome once again to Proskauer's newly revamped ERISA Newsletter. As a reminder, readers can obtain the information in this Newsletter as it is published on our blog. Our featured article this...more
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
On Sept. 1, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued its decision in the Antioch employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciary litigation. The court held that the Antioch Board of Directors...more
Overview - Court cases challenging the actions of Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciaries have continued unabated since the scandal of Enron in 2002. Since then, a large number of cases are in the ‘‘stock...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently entered into an agreement with GreatBanc Trust Company settling claims relating to its service as trustee of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) holding stock of a private company....more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently settled a case involving an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) that provides guidance but also a warning for trustees and employers contemplating ESOP transactions that later go awry....more
Ruling rejects DOL challenge of an agreement by a 100% ESOP-owned company to advance defense costs and indemnify a trustee....more