Cleary v. American Capital, Ltd.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

STEARNS, District Judge.

The issue in this case is whether a private equity firm seeking to protect its shareholders’ stake in a failing company succeeded in negotiating the delicate boundary between permissible self-help and de facto corporate control so as to avoid liability as a “single-employer” under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2109. Plaintiffs Gregory Cleary and John Daniele are former employees of Constar International, Inc. (Constar), a bankrupt electrical service…