Former participants in the 80/20, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan were paid from a $7 million ERISA settlement on September 15, 2026, after the court granted final approval on July 14, 2026. The settlement is closed and there is nothing left to claim.
What Is This About?
A $7 million settlement resolving Walther v. Wood, Case No. 23-cv-00294 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, has reached the payment stage. The case concerned the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) at 80/20, Inc., the Indiana-based maker of T-slot aluminum framing. Former plan participants claimed the plan's fiduciaries mishandled how the ESOP was administered and terminated, and that private-equity investors MPE Partners II, L.P., MPE Partners III, L.P. and Pareto Efficient Solutions, LLC knowingly participated. The defendants deny the claims and settled without admitting any fault or liability.Judge Gretchen S. Lund held the fairness hearing on July 14, 2026, and the settlement was approved. According to the official settlement website, payments were distributed on September 15, 2026.
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Who Was Paid
The class is small and closed. It covers people who were participants in the 80/20, Inc. ESOP when the plan terminated and who received a termination distribution, along with their beneficiaries or alternate payees of record. The settlement notice put the count at 328 people. Defendants are excluded.Nobody had to file anything. Each class member was paid by mailed check unless they chose a direct rollover to an IRA or employer plan, or an electronic funds transfer, before the July 14, 2026 deadline. Because this was a mandatory class, there was no option to opt out.
How Shares Were Figured
The net fund — $7 million minus court-approved attorneys' fees and costs, administrative expenses and service awards — is divided pro rata. A class member's share tracks the size of the distribution that person received when the plan terminated, relative to the total distributions paid to the whole class. Someone with a larger ESOP account at termination receives a larger share.Class counsel told the court it would request no more than one-third of the fund, or $2,333,333.33, in fees, plus litigation costs and up to $5,000 for each class representative.
What Happens Now
Nothing further is scheduled for class members. The settlement website said payments could take two to four weeks to arrive after the September 15 distribution. A class member who still has not received a check by now can reach the administrator through the contact form on the official settlement website.Questions
Who was in the 80/20 ESOP settlement class?
The class covers people who were participants in the 80/20, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan when the plan was terminated and who received a termination distribution, plus their beneficiaries or alternate payees of record. Defendants are excluded. The settlement notice counted 328 class members.
Did class members have to file a claim?
No. There was no claim form. Every class member was paid automatically. The only choice was the payment method: a check by default, or a rollover or electronic funds transfer elected by July 14, 2026. That election window has closed.
How was each 80/20 ESOP payment calculated?
Under the plan of allocation, the net settlement fund is split pro rata. Each class member's share is based on the size of the distribution that person received when the plan terminated, compared with the total termination distributions paid to all class members.
Can someone still join or opt out of the 80/20 ESOP settlement?
No. The settlement is final, and the class was a mandatory class with no opt-out option. The objection deadline was June 23, 2026, and payments were distributed on September 15, 2026.
Sources
- Notice of Class Action Settlement, Walther v. Wood, No. 23-cv-00294 (N.D. Ind.)
- 80/20 ERISA Settlement — official settlement website
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice.
