Neil v. Zell

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

REBECCA R. PALLMEYER, District Judge.

Defendant, GreatBanc, trustee of the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”), oversaw the ESOP’s purchase of $250 million worth of Tribune Company stock as part of a complex leveraged going-private transaction on April 1, 2007. Tribune Company has now entered bankruptcy and the stock is worthless. The court has ruled on summary judgment that GreatBanc breached its fiduciary duties to the ESOP by approving the stock purchase which, the court concluded, is a prohibited transaction under relevant regulations. Defendant now…