ATTORNEY FEES: $3,146,185 fees, $89,153 costs awarded in $29 million settlement/stipulated judgment and assignment of rights by grocery chain executives to 35 ESOP participants… $35,816,986 total judgment with $6,816,986 prejudgment interest… appeal bond waived for $26 billion insurer… Townsend. [Read more…]
Insurance, duty to defend, stipulated judgment
INSURANCE: Court correctly found, without coverage analysis, that insurer breached duty to defend after recognizing policy potentially implicated, estopped from denying coverage… $29 million stipulated judgment improperly granted without [Read more…]
Insurance, ESOP, $29 million stipulated judgment
INSURANCE: Defense of corporate officers in grocery chain ESOP litigation was tendered when insurer on notice in federal litigation and repeated requests for payment of defense costs in state action, insurer had duty to defend, policy not one of mere indemnification of defense costs, breached duty by [Read more…]
ERISA, pre-suit demand futility, preemption
ERISA: Employees’ failure to make pre-suit demand for action on ESOP or officers of Washington-based grocery should be analyzed as to whether demand would have been futile (per [Read more…]
ERISA, employee derivative action, preemption
ERISA: Employees lack standing to bring derivative or double derivative action against Washington-based grocery under Washington law… state law claims against top officers following $575,000 policy-limits ESOP settlement preempted by ERISA… newly constituted company not [Read more…]