SAN FRANCISCO – A former employee of a Sebastopol company has filed a class-action suit over the employee stock ownership plan.
Cynthia Maria Vespa filed a complaint on behalf of all others similarly situated on July 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Singler-Ernter Inc., Peter A. Singler Jr., Carol S. Singler and the Singler-Ernster Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust alleging violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she participated in the defendants' employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and suffered damages as a result of a significant drop in market value of the common stock. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because the defendants' actions allegedly caused the ESOP to dissolve in April and that the defendants did not protect the fair market value of the Singler-Ernster common stock.
The plaintiff seeks restitution for the class, all damages, injunctive relief against the defendant, restitution, restore all losses caused to the ESOP plus interest, all legal fees and any other relief as the court deems just. She is represented by David R. Johanson and Rebecca D. Takacs of Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young in San Francisco.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case number 3:16-cv-03723-JCS