Envision Management Holding agreed to settle a class action over its 2017 employee stock ownership plan deal three days before trial. An employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, holds company stock for workers. If you took part in that ESOP, the deal pauses the court fight but creates no payments yet.
According to Bloomberg Law, the board agreed to settle the 1,000-person case and avert a planned 10-day trial settlement report. Cohen Milstein reports the parties announced the agreement Oct. 23 before Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in federal court in Colorado firm's case update.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Cohenmilstein — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Bloomberglaw — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
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What the trial-eve deal does
The agreement stops the trial schedule without deciding who was right. The parties must still put the terms in writing and win court approval. No settlement fund, formula, or release is final now.
Judge Sweeney ordered the parties to submit the settlement details by Dec. 4, according to Bloomberg Law. That filing will start the approval process, not finish it. Payments can follow only after the court approves the terms and the notice plan.
Who this case covers
The case is Harrison v. Envision Management Holding, Inc. Board of Directors et al., No. 1:21-cv-00304. Cohen Milstein states it was filed Jan.
29, 2021 on behalf of ESOP participants and beneficiaries. The court granted class certification on Jan. 24, 2025, Radiology Business reports. That ruling let about 1,000 current and former employee-owners proceed together. Final eligibility will depend on the Dec. 4 filing and later court-approved notice.
What the lawsuit challenged
Law360 reports plaintiffs allege the former owners sold Envision to the newly created ESOP in December 2017 for about $163.7M-$164M at an inflated price trial-eve coverage. Plaintiffs frame that pricing decision as a breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA, the federal law that protects retirement-plan participants.
The complaint also names ESOP trustee Argent Trust, Cohen Milstein states. Plaintiffs allege defendants handpicked the trustee, kept employees out of price talks, and kept control of the company. Those claims focus on process, not only price.
What to do now
You need take no immediate action to preserve your position. Watch for the Dec.
4 filing and the later court-approved notice. That notice should explain eligibility, payouts, and objection rights. The court-approved notice is the document that will control deadlines and options.
- Keep proof of Envision employment and any ESOP statements in one folder.
- Keep your mailing address current with the plan administrator and former employer.
- Save any settlement notice you receive and note its deadlines.
- Do not pay anyone who offers to file your claim early.