Ex-Crain Automotive Executive Wins $4.9 Million Compensation Row

Crain Automotive Holdings LLC owes more than $4.9 million in deferred compensation and interest to its former chief operating officer, an Arkansas federal judge ruled.

Crain, a car dealership and media company, said Barton Hankins wasn’t entitled to benefits under its deferred compensation plan because he never signed the separate employment and confidentiality agreements referenced in the plan. Judge Brian S. Miller called this justification “unreasonable,” noting that both parties understood no separate agreements had been signed when they entered into the compensation plan.

The plan also contains no requirement that the employment and confidentiality agreements be in place for ...