Chris Wingard, an Associate in Kleinbard’s Business & Finance Practice, authored a post on the multi-year dispute regarding 80/20 Inc.’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)’s Employee Ownership Legal Digest. The NCEO’s Legal Digest provides summaries of key cases, rulings, and legal developments impacting employee ownership. This case summary centers around 80/20 Inc., an Indiana-based aluminum manufacturer, that established an ESOP that owned 10% of 80/20 Inc. before founder Don Wood’s death in 2019. Wood’s will expressed his preference that the company become 100% ESOP-owned following his death, with proceeds from the sale of the remaining 90% of the company going to benefit Wood’s charitable foundation. Following Wood’s death, the ESOP’s then-independent trustee, Brian Eagle, submitted a proposal for the ESOP to purchase the remaining shares. The company’s board then changed Eagle’s status to be a directed trustee and opted to sell the remaining shares to private investors. ESOP participants sued Eagle, company board members, and John Wood, the founder’s son, alleging fiduciary breaches under ERISA. In 2024, the court allowed claims to proceed against Eagle and Wood but dismissed claims against the other defendants. In that ruling, the court held that while employees lacked standing to enforce Wood’s will, they could pursue claims that Eagle failed to act aggressively to protect the ESOP’s interests. On December 19, 2025, the parties filed a joint notice of settlement in principle, with a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement expected by February 2026.
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