Argent Trust Sued Over $198M Employee Stock Plan Transaction

Argent Trust Co. faces a class suit over its role in a $198 million stock transaction between Choate Construction Co. and its employee stock ownership plan.

The April 17 lawsuit claims Argent, which served as trustee for the stock plan and represented the Choate employees in the transaction, caused the plan to pay $198 million for Choate stock that was worth less than $65 million. The transaction also changed the structure of Choate stock to dilute the value of the 80 percent share acquired by the stock plan, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a proposed class ...