Wilmington Trust $8M ERISA Class Action Settlement

Wilmington Trust N.A., Brian C. Sass, E. Stockton Croft IV, BSC Ventures Holdings Inc.

Employees who participated in the BSC Ventures Holdings Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan or were a beneficiary of a participant at any point between Jan. 14, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2024, may qualify to receive a portion of an $8 million class action settlement.

Wilmington Trust agreed to pay $8 million to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging it, as trustee of the ESOP, violated federal law by approving the plan’s 2016 purchase of BSC stock at a price above fair market value. The lawsuit claimed this transaction violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, potentially harming ESOP participants and their beneficiaries.

Who are the class members?

The class includes all individuals who participated in the BSC Ventures Holdings Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan at any time from Jan. 14, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2024, and beneficiaries of such participants during the same period.

The settlement administrator will use BSC’s records to determine eligibility. Those who received a notice about the settlement are most likely class members.

How much can class members receive?

Pro rata payment: The settlement administrator will distribute the net settlement fund—what remains after taxes, administrative costs, attorneys’ fees and a service award to the lead plaintiff—among class members. The amount each class member receives depends on the number of vested shares of BSC stock allocated to their Employee Stock Ownership Plan account as of Dec. 31, 2024, or, if they received a distribution before that date, the number of vested shares before the distribution.

Each class member’s “entitlement percentage” is calculated by dividing the number of their vested shares by the total number of vested shares held by all class members.
Their settlement allocation is net proceeds x entitlement percentage.
Class members who received a prior distribution will have their vested shares before the distribution used in the calculation.

No action needed to receive payment

Class members do not need to file a claim to receive their share of the settlement. The settlement administrator will use the plan’s records to calculate each class member’s share and send payments automatically. There is no claim form to submit.

Class members whose address or contact information has changed should notify the settlement administrator to ensure they receive payment.

Settlement administrator's contact information: Henry v. Wilmington Trust c/o RG/2 Claims Administration LLC, P.O. Box 59479, Philadelphia, PA 19102-9479, info@rg2claims.com, 866-742-4955

$8 million settlement fund breakdown

The $8,000,000 settlement fund covers:

Settlement administration costs: $33,333 (estimated)
Attorneys’ fees: Up to $2,666,667
Service award to lead plaintiff: Up to $25,000
Taxes: To be determined
Payments to class members: The remainder of the fund

Important dates

Fairness hearing: Dec. 3, 2025

When is the Henry v. Wilmington Trust payout date?

The settlement administrator will distribute payments after the court grants final approval of the settlement and resolve any appeals.

Why is there a class action settlement?

The class action lawsuit alleged Wilmington Trust, as trustee of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by approving the ESOP’s purchase of BSC stock in 2016 at a price above fair market value. The plaintiff claimed this harmed plan participants and beneficiaries.

The defendants denied all allegations and any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid further litigation costs, delay and uncertainty.