Facts

Plaintiff, a participant in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), requested financial information after the sale for $4,475,350 of the company in 2007 regarding the purchase agreement and bank statements of a $500,000 escrow account in 2008. Defendant CEO and trustee of the ESOP refused to disclose. Plaintiff filed complaints with the Dept. of Labor. After no response, he filed a lawsuit for fiduciary abuse and for an accounting to determine whether the allocation of only 57.37% of the proceeds to the ESOP was proper.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment for fiduciary abuse and an accounting. Defendant in response disclosed the purchase agreement and the bank statements, some 648 days after the initial request. Plaintiff requested statutory damages of $110 a day for failure to disclose and for attorney fees and costs.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant alleged that a feud by his former father-in-law was behind plaintiff cousin's lawsuit, and filed his own motion for summary judgment.

Result

The Court denied plaintiff's partial summary judgment on the ground that defendant alleged good faith and plaintiff failed to prove bad faith, but ordered the disclosure of the documents. The Court further denied attorney fees and costs as discretionary under ERISA. The Court granted defendant's summary judgment and final judgment with costs against plaintiff. Post-judgment, defendant filed his motion for attorney fees in the amount of $158,454.30 and costs of $16,813.30. The Court denied both attorney fees and costs on the grounds of defendant's refusal to disclose and that plaintiff had been accorded relief.