January 27, 2025
A Colorado federal judge on Friday certified an ERISA class action accusing a radiology company and its trustee of overcharging its employee stock ownership plan for purchase of company stock.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, in a 24-page order, granted a motion for class certification by former Envision Management Holding employees Robert Harrison and Grace Heath, who allege that their employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, was up-charged more than $300 per share for nearly two-thirds of Envision stock.
Judge Sweeney found that the plaintiffs had met their burden of showing common questions among the proposed class, including whether the ESOP paid more than fair market value for company stock, whether each defendant breached fiduciary duties owed to the plan, and whether the plan suffered losses from those breaches, the order says.
The judge also determined that Harrison and Heath’s claims are typical of those of the proposed class members, which are based on the same underlying allegation that the ESOP paid an excessive price of $177 million for Envision stock, according to the order.
She certified a class of about 1,000 “participants in the Envision ESOP on or after September 1, 2017, who vested under the terms of the ESOP,” naming Harrison and Heath as class representatives, and appointing their attorneys at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC as class counsel.
“The court finds that Plaintiffs and their counsel will vigorously prosecute this action on behalf of the class,” Judge Sweeney said.
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Harrison and Heath are represented by Michelle C. Yau, Caroline E. Bressman and Ryan Wheeler of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.
Read Radiology Co.’s Ex-Workers Win Class Cert. In ESOP Suit.