Halldorson v. Wilmington Trust Retirement and Institutional Services Company

Filing 337

MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema on 6/23/17. (klau, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division

TIM P. BRUNDLE, on behalf of the

ConstellisEmployee Stock OwnershipPlan,
and on behalf of a class of all other persons
similarly situated
l:15-cv-1494(LMB/IDD)
Plaintiff
V.

WILMINGTON TRUST, N.A., as successor to

Wilmington Trust Retirement and
Institutional Services Company
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION

Thefactual background of this civil action is fully setoutin the Memorandum Opinion
issued on March 13,2017. See Mem. Op., [Dkt. 294]. Put briefly,plaintiff Tim P. Brundle

("plaintiff or "Brundle"), acting on behalfof the Constellis Employee Stock Ownership Plan
("ESOP"), alleged that defendant, as the ESOP's trustee, caused the ESOP to engage in a

transaction prohibited by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29
U.S.C. § 1001 Mseq..when it failed to ensure that the ESOPpaid no morethan adequate
consideration for Constellis' stock. Id at 1. Following a six-day bench trial, the Court held that

the defendant was liable for causingthe ESOP to engagein a prohibitedtransactionunder 29
U.S.C. § 1106(a)(1)(A), but not liable for transactions prohibitedunder 29 U.S.C.

§§ 1106(a)(1)(B) or 1106(b), andawarded the ESOP $29,773,250 in damages. Id at 2.
In the instant Motion to Amend the Judgment Pursuant to Rule 59(e), or, in the

Alternative, For a New Trial Pursuant to Rule 59(a) ("Motion to Reconsider") [Dkt. 309],