Ex-Kruse Western Worker Advances $244 Million Stock Plan Suit

Animal feed company Kruse-Western Inc. must face the bulk of a lawsuit claiming it forced workers to pay $244 million for company stock worth only $27 million following a contamination and recall, according to a California federal judge’s ruling.

The proposed class action by former Kruse-Western employee Armando Zavala states a valid claim for a prohibited transaction between the company’s employee stock ownership plan and a party in interest to the plan under the the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Judge Dale A. Drozd of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California said Monday. That’s because the ...