On January 30, 2019, Plaintiffs Nelson Gamache and Edward Nofi filed a class action in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia in Albany against John Hogue and Graham Thompson, as well as the Administrative Committee of the Technical Associates of Georgia, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Plaintiffs’ claims are brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) on behalf of themselves and the participants and beneficiaries of the Technical Associates ESOP.
The case arises from Defendants’ secret acquisition of an ownership interest in Technical Associates, which was previously 100% owned by the ESOP, diluting the value of the ESOP’s ownership stake and siphoning off dividends from the ESOP. Defendants are Trustees of the ESOP, and Plaintiffs allege that these actions constituted breaches of fiduciary duties and prohibited transactions under ERISA, causing losses to the ESOP which must be restored.
The Complaint can be downloaded here. Coverage of the case by Bloomberg Law News is available here.
If you have any information or questions about the case, please contact Nina Wasow or Dan Feinberg. Plaintiffs are also represented by R. Joseph Barton at Block & Leviton LLP, who can be reached at (202) 734-7046, and William Stone at the Stone Law Group, who can be reached at (229) 723-3045.