Participants who held vested shares in the AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan on or after August 6, 2023, and their beneficiaries, will be paid a pro rata share of a $13.75 million ERISA settlement automatically from the ESOP’s records; there is no claim form to file. Objections and optional rollover forms are due November 12, 2026, ahead of a December 3, 2026 final approval hearing.
Current Status
There is no claim form: if the settlement is approved, eligible class members are paid automatically by check unless they choose a rollover. The court granted preliminary approval on August 25, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for December 3, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. The deadline to object, and to return an optional rollover form, is November 12, 2026. No final approval order or payment date had been announced as of October 27, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
The settlement resolves Ramirez v. AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc., a proposed class action filed in May 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California over the AMPAM Parks Mechanical employee stock ownership plan. The parties signed the settlement agreement on July 30, 2026, after a June mediation, and Judge Kenly Kiya Kato granted preliminary approval on August 25, 2026. The administrator has since mailed notice in English and Spanish to class members identified from the ESOP recordkeeper’s data.The lawsuit alleged that the ESOP paid an inflated price when it bought AMPAM stock from the company’s original owners in 2019, and received a deflated price when the ESOP sold AMPAM in 2023, in breach of fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It also alleged that the AMPAM board of directors failed to monitor the ESOP’s trustees. The defendants deny that they violated any law or duty owed to the ESOP or its participants and say both sales were for fair market value. The court has not decided who was right.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is all participants in the AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan on August 6, 2023 or at any time afterward who vested under the terms of the plan, plus those participants’ beneficiaries. The class was certified in March 2025 and, according to reporting on the settlement motion, has about 1,100 members.Excluded are the defendants and their immediate family members, any fiduciary of the plan, the officers and directors of AMPAM or of any entity a defendant controls, and the legal representatives, successors and assigns of anyone excluded.
The court approved the settlement for notice as a mandatory class, so class members cannot exclude themselves. If the settlement receives final approval, every class member is bound by it and gives up the released claims against the defendants.
How Much Can You Get?
The defendants are paying $13,750,000 in cash. The court-approved attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, service awards and administration and Independent Fiduciary costs come out of that amount first. What remains is divided among class members in proportion to each person’s share of the total vested AMPAM shares.The notice says class counsel will request attorneys’ fees of up to one-third of the $13.75 million, reimbursement of up to $600,000 in litigation expenses, and service awards of up to $25,000 for each of the two class representatives. If the court awards all of that, the net fund would be roughly $8.5 million before administration and Independent Fiduciary costs.
In their preliminary approval motion, the plaintiffs estimated the average gross recovery at about $12,000 per class member, and the fund at about 56% of the ESOP’s estimated damages. That is an estimate made before fees and costs. Individual payments depend on vested share counts and will vary.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
None to be paid. There is no claim form, and payments are calculated from the ESOP’s own records.The only form in the settlement is an optional rollover form for class members who want their payment deposited into a qualified retirement account instead of mailed as a check. Filling it out online requires the Notice ID printed on the mailed notice, plus the class member’s last name. The form can also be returned by mail. Questions about how a check or a rollover is taxed are for the IRS or a tax professional.
What Is the Deadline?
November 12, 2026 is the deadline for three things: rollover forms (submitted online or postmarked), objections, and notices of intention to appear at the fairness hearing. An objection has to be filed with the court and also sent to the settlement administrator by that date. The official sources give only the date, not a time of day.Class members who do nothing are paid by check if the settlement is approved.
How Do You Take Action?
The rollover form, the notice in English and Spanish, the settlement agreement and the court filings are on the official AMPAM ESOP Settlement website, which is run by the settlement administrator, Atticus Administration. The online rollover form opens after entering the Notice ID and last name. The written requirements for an objection are listed in the settlement website’s FAQ. Address changes and other questions go through the contact page.What Happens Next?
Class counsel’s request for fees, expenses and service awards was due 42 days before the hearing, and the notice says the papers will be posted on the settlement website by October 29, 2026. The Independent Fiduciary’s determination is due 35 days before the hearing, and the motion for final approval 28 days before it.Judge Kato will hold the fairness hearing on December 3, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time in Courtroom 3 of the federal courthouse in Riverside. The court can approve the settlement, reject it or postpone a decision, and the date can change. Under the agreement, the defendants pay the remaining $13.7 million within 30 days after a final approval order. The notice says payments go out shortly after approval if no one appeals; an appeal would delay them, often by more than a year.
Sources and Verification
• AMPAM ESOP Settlement — official settlement website• Important Dates — official settlement website
• Class Action Settlement Notice (English)
• Settlement documents, including the Class Action Settlement Agreement dated July 30, 2026
• Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Settlement, Ramirez v. AMPAM Parks Mechanical, Inc., No. 5:24-cv-01038-KK-DTB (C.D. Cal. Aug. 25, 2026), Dkt. 264
Questions
Can class members opt out of the AMPAM ESOP settlement?
No. The court preliminarily approved the settlement as a mandatory, non-opt-out class action, so every class member is bound by it if it receives final approval. Class members can object to the settlement or to the requested attorneys’ fees, expenses and service awards by November 12, 2026.
What is the Independent Fiduciary’s role in the AMPAM settlement?
Because the settlement releases claims belonging to a retirement plan, the agreement requires a neutral Independent Fiduciary to review it on behalf of the ESOP and its participants and decide whether it is fair and reasonable. Its written report is to be filed with the court by the objection deadline and posted on the settlement website.
How much will class counsel ask for in the AMPAM case?
According to the class notice, class counsel will ask for attorneys’ fees of up to one-third of the $13.75 million fund, reimbursement of litigation expenses of up to $600,000, and service awards of up to $25,000 for each class representative. The court decides what, if anything, to award, and all of it comes out of the fund before payments are calculated.
What happens to AMPAM payments if a class member has moved?
Checks are mailed to the address the settlement administrator has on file, and the notice puts the responsibility for keeping that address current on the class member. Contact details for updating an address are on the official settlement website.
What did the AMPAM ESOP lawsuit allege?
The class representatives alleged that the ESOP overpaid when it bought AMPAM stock from the company’s original owners in 2019, and was underpaid when it sold the company in 2023, in violation of ERISA fiduciary duties. The defendants deny violating any law or duty and say both transactions were for fair market value. The court made no finding on the merits.
