Published
August 27, 2026
This settlement resolves ERISA claims that the ACCT Holdings employee stock ownership plan overpaid for ACCT stock in a December 2021 buyout. If you were a vested ESOP participant or beneficiary between December 22, 2021 and December 31, 2025, you are already in the class — there is no claim form to file, and no way to opt out.
Current Status
There is no claim form and nothing to file. Vested participants and beneficiaries are automatically in the settlement class, and the administrator calculates each share from the Plan's own records. The settlement is not yet final: a fairness hearing is scheduled for November 19, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia, and payments are made only if the court grants final approval and that approval survives any appeal. The deadline to object is October 29, 2026 — and objecting is the only avenue available, because the class was certified as a non-opt-out class. No payment date has been announced as of August 27, 2026.
Status
Pending Final Approval
Objection Deadline
October 29, 2026
No opt-out — Rule 23(b)(1) and/or (2) class
Estimated Payout
Pro Rata Share of $8.75M
$3M cash plus a $5.75M debt reduction meant to lift ACCT share value
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form — paid into your Plan account or mailed as a check
What Changed Recently?
The case is Leduc v. Paredes, et al., No. 2:24-cv-05970-WB, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. It concerns the December 22, 2021 transaction in which the ACCT Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan bought 100% of ACCT's stock for $320 million, financed by a $118.5 million loan from ACCT and a $201.5 million loan from the selling shareholders.Plaintiffs allege that the ESOP's trustee violated ERISA — specifically 29 U.S.C. § 1104 and 29 U.S.C. § 1106 — by approving the Plan's purchase of ACCT stock at a price they say exceeded fair market value. They further allege that the remaining defendants, the shareholders who sold their stock to the ESOP, knew of and benefited from those alleged violations, and that a subset of them who appointed the trustee failed in their own duties under 29 U.S.C. § 1104 and § 1105. These are allegations that no court has decided.
The defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing, fault, liability, or damage. They maintain they acted reasonably and prudently at all relevant times and that their conduct complied with applicable law. The settlement agreement states expressly that nothing in it is an admission or concession of fault or liability, nor an admission by plaintiffs that their claims lacked merit.
Procedurally: the first complaint was filed November 7, 2024, a second suit followed on January 23, 2025 and was consolidated into the first on March 21, 2025, and a second amended complaint was filed March 28, 2025. All defendants moved to dismiss on May 1, 2025; the court denied those motions without prejudice on August 11, 2025, allowing renewed motions. The parties then reached an agreement through mediation, and the settlement agreement is dated December 30, 2025. Notice has since gone out to the class and the fairness hearing is set.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is all vested participants in the ACCT Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and the beneficiaries of those participants, as of the date of the December 22, 2021 ESOP transaction through and including December 31, 2025.Excluded from the class are the shareholders who sold their ACCT stock to the Plan, directly or indirectly, and their immediate families; the directors and officers of ACCT at the time of the ESOP transaction and their immediate families; and the legal representatives, successors and assigns of any excluded person.
Membership is determined from the Plan's records, not from anything you submit. Class members received a mailed notice because those records identify them as vested participants or beneficiaries during the class period. Both current participants with an active Plan account and former participants who have already cashed out are included — the two groups are simply paid differently.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement amount is $8,750,000, and it takes two forms rather than one pot of cash.- $3 million in cash, paid into a settlement fund in installments: $375,000 ten days after preliminary approval, $375,000 ten days after the final order, then $750,000 each at 90, 180 and 270 days after the final order.
- A $5.75 million reduction in the balance of the seller notes ACCT issued to certain defendants in the ESOP transaction, due 60 days after the final order, together with a matching $5.75 million reduction of ACCT's internal loan to the ESOP.
The second piece is the part most participants will find unfamiliar, and it is worth understanding because it is the larger number. Those seller notes are company debt, and a company's debt reduces the equity value of its stock. Cutting the note balances is intended to raise the value of the ACCT stock sitting in participants' Plan accounts. It arrives as share value, not as a payment — which is why it benefits people who still hold stock in the Plan and does nothing for people who already cashed out.
The cash is what gets distributed. From the gross settlement fund the notice lists deductions for taxes owed on the cash payments, administrative expenses, the fee of the independent fiduciary retained to opine on whether the settlement is in the Plan's interest, court-approved attorneys' fees, and service awards of up to $2,500 each for the two class representatives. What remains is the net proceeds.
Your share of the net proceeds is set by an Entitlement Percentage: your vested ACCT shares allocated as of December 31, 2025, plus any vested shares you previously received a distribution for, divided by that same total across every class member. Multiply the net proceeds by that percentage and you have the allocation. Because class members who already cashed out will not benefit from the seller note reduction, they receive an additional payment reflecting the approximate share-price increase it produces. One floor applies: if a former participant's calculated payment is under $10.00, no distribution is made and that share is reallocated among the other class members.
Worth noting on fees: class counsel may seek up to 15% of the settlement amount, and the settlement amount is defined as the full $8,750,000 including the debt reduction — but any fee award is paid out of the $3 million gross cash fund. The court has not ruled on the fee application, and it may award less than what is requested.
Do You Need to File Anything?
No. There is no claim form, no notice ID to enter, and no documentation to upload — which is why this page lists Proof Required as Automatic Payment rather than "No." Payment reaches class members two ways:- Active Plan account (a vested positive balance): your share is deposited directly into your Plan account, as a cash allocation held in a money market fund inside the ESOP.
- Former participant (you withdrew your balance): your share, if any, is mailed to you as a check.
Former participants have one optional election. Instead of a check, you may direct your distribution into an individual retirement account or another eligible retirement plan by completing the Rollover Election Form available on the settlement website by June 1, 2027. The form asks for contact and receiving-account details and an electronic signature. It is a payment-election step, not a claim — skipping it means a check rather than no payment. Whether a rollover makes sense for you is a question for your own financial advisor.
The one thing worth doing either way: make sure the address the Plan has for you is current, since checks are mailed to the address on file.
What Are the Deadlines?
October 29, 2026 — objections. A class member who wants to object to the settlement, to the requested attorneys' fees and expenses, to the administrative fees and costs, or to the service awards must file the objection with the court and submit it to the settlement administrator by this date. An objection must state the case name and number, the objector's contact details and counsel's if represented, the complete basis for the objection, whether the objector intends to appear at the hearing, whether the objection applies to the objector alone or to a subset or all of the class, and copies of supporting documents. The same date is the deadline to give notice of intent to appear and speak at the hearing.November 19, 2026 — the fairness hearing.
June 1, 2027 — the optional Rollover Election Form deadline for former participants who prefer a rollover over a check.
There is no exclusion deadline, because there is no exclusion. The notice states plainly that class members do not have the option to exclude themselves if the court approves the settlement. Our explainer on opting out of a class action covers why mandatory classes like this one work differently from the opt-out settlements most consumers encounter.
How Do You Take Action?
For most class members the honest answer is: you don't, and that is by design. If you received a notice, the Plan's records already identify you, and your share is calculated and paid without any step from you.The official settlement website is ACCT ESOP Settlement.com, which hosts the settlement agreement, the second amended complaint, the full plan of allocation, the notice, the Rollover Election Form, and a contact page for reaching the administrator. Reading the plan of allocation is the only way to see exactly how your own share is computed; this page summarizes it, and the agreement controls where the two differ.
You do not need to hire a lawyer. The court appointed Bailey & Glasser LLP and Stris & Maher LLP as class counsel, and they represent every class member in connection with the settlement. You may hire your own lawyer to appear for you, at your own expense.
What Happens Next?
Before the hearing, an independent fiduciary — required under the Department of Labor's Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2003-39 — must review the settlement and decide whether to approve and authorize the release of claims on the Plan's behalf. That determination is due to counsel no later than 30 days before the fairness hearing, and its fee is paid from the settlement amount if the settlement becomes final.At the fairness hearing on November 19, 2026 the court will decide whether to grant final approval and enter a final order, and will rule on the requested attorneys' fees and expenses, the administrative fees and costs, and the service awards. The notice states that if the hearing is rescheduled, or held by video or telephone, a notice will be posted on the settlement website — so check there rather than assuming the date holds.
If final approval is granted, the payment mechanics run on the schedule above, and the agreement provides that no distributions go to class members until all the agreed cash payments have been made, apart from administrative expenses, the independent fiduciary's fee, and any service awards. With the last installment due 270 days after the final order, participants should expect a wait measured in quarters rather than weeks. If the settlement is terminated or does not become final, the cash is returned to the paying defendants and the case reverts to where it stood before the agreement.
What the Release Covers
On entry of the final order, the class releases the defendants and a wide set of related parties — including dismissed defendants, any successor trustee to the ESOP, the Plan's named and functional fiduciaries, current and former shareholders, officers, directors and trustees of the trustee entity, ACCT and the ESOP, plus their successors, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, agents, attorneys, insurers and reinsurers — from all released claims.The released claims are any claims of any nature, known or unknown, at law or in equity, that were or could have been asserted in the lawsuit arising from the facts and claims alleged in the second amended complaint. The release also includes an express waiver of California Civil Code § 1542 and equivalent provisions elsewhere, which is the clause that normally preserves claims a releasing party does not yet know about.
One carve-out is stated: the release does not cover an individual participant's or beneficiary's claim for benefits under ERISA § 502(a)(1)(B) based only on errors unrelated to the lawsuit's allegations — for example, an error in that participant's own salary, age, or years of service. Because there is no opt-out, this release binds every class member if the court approves, whether or not they take any action. Anyone who considers that a bad trade has one avenue, and it closes October 29, 2026.
Sources and Verification
• Official Settlement Website — notice, settlement agreement, plan of allocation, court documents• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement and Settlement Agreement (PDF)
• Class Action Settlement Agreement dated December 30, 2025 — ECF No. 90-4, Leduc v. Paredes, No. 2:24-cv-05970-WB (E.D. Pa.)
• Proposed order granting preliminary approval and certifying the settlement class — Exhibit A to the settlement agreement
• U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration — Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2003-39, the independent-fiduciary requirement referenced in the agreement
Questions
Do I need to file a claim for the ACCT ESOP settlement?
No. There is no claim form. If the court approves the settlement, the administrator calculates each class member's share from the Plan's own records. Participants with a positive vested balance receive their share deposited into their Plan account; participants who already cashed out receive a check by mail, unless they elect a rollover instead.
Can I opt out of the ACCT ESOP settlement?
No. The court certified the settlement class as a non-opt-out class under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1) and/or (2), which the notice confirms by stating that class members do not have the option to exclude themselves if the court approves the settlement. A class member who disagrees with the settlement can object by October 29, 2026 rather than exclude themselves.
How is my share of the ACCT ESOP settlement calculated?
Each class member gets an Entitlement Percentage: their vested ACCT shares allocated as of December 31, 2025 plus any vested shares they previously received a distribution for, divided by the same total across all class members. That percentage is applied to the net proceeds. Class members who already cashed out their vested shares receive an additional payment reflecting the approximate share-price increase from the seller note reduction, since they no longer hold stock that would benefit from it.
What is the $5.75 million seller note reduction and how does it help me?
Certain defendants hold promissory notes ACCT issued when the ESOP bought the company. Those notes are company debt, and debt reduces the equity value of the stock. Reducing the note balances by $5.75 million lowers ACCT's debt and, in turn, is intended to raise the value of ACCT stock held in participants' Plan accounts. The reduction is due 60 days after the court enters a final order, together with a matching reduction of ACCT's internal loan to the ESOP.
When will ACCT ESOP settlement payments be made?
No payment date has been announced. The settlement is not final: a fairness hearing is set for November 19, 2026, and payments are made only if the court grants final approval and that approval survives any appeal. The cash is paid in installments, with the last installment due 270 days after the final order, and the agreement states that no distributions to class members are made until all of the agreed cash payments have been received, apart from administrative expenses, the independent fiduciary's fee, and any service awards.
Is there a minimum payment amount?
Yes, for former participants. If a former participant's calculated payment is less than $10.00, no distribution is made to them and their share is reallocated among the other class members. The notice does not apply that floor to participants with an active Plan account.
Official Settlement Notice
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Settlement Amount
$8,750,000
$3M cash plus a $5.75M seller note reduction
Case Title
Leduc v. Paredes, et al.
Case Number
2:24-cv-05970-WB
Court
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Final Approval Hearing
November 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Before the Hon. Wendy Beetlestone, Philadelphia · may be rescheduled or held remotely
Administrator
RG/2 Claims Administration, LLC
Official Website
ACCT ESOP Settlement.com
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