$22.5M Settlement for Dallas BBQ Restaurant Workers Gets Preliminary Approval

NEW YORK, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the court granted preliminary approval of a settlement worth over $22.5 million to Dallas BBQ restaurant workers and retirees in a hotly contested certified class action against Argent Trust Company, as well as former Dallas BBQ restaurant owners Herbert Wetanson, Gregor Wetanson, and Stuart Wetanson for mismanaging the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The parties signed a term sheet on March 9 – days before a bench trial was due to begin.

Under the terms of the settlement, $10 million in cash, Defendants will eliminate debt owed to them from the ESOP Transaction worth approximately $12.5 million, which will increase the restaurant’s stock value held by class members. Finally, former Dallas BBQ restaurant workers will have the opportunity to cash out the stock from ESOP accounts over a period of 5 years.

“This is a tremendous recovery for participants in the W BBQ ESOP, especially given the many obstacles they had to overcome in pursuit of financial restitution and justice,” said Michelle C. Yau, chair of Cohen Milstein’s ERISA & Employee Benefits practice. “I commend the class representatives for stepping forward to serve the ESOP and their fellow participants in bringing these ERISA violations.”

Plaintiffs alleged that the W BBQ ESOP acquired 400,000 shares of Dallas BBQ common stock from the former owners in July 2016 for an aggregate price of $98,887,309 – significantly more than fair market value of those shares.

Plaintiffs argued that under ERISA, Argent, as the trustee of the W BBQ ESOP had a fiduciary duty to act prudently and in the sole interest of the ESOP’s participants and prevent the ESOP from engaging in prohibited transactions. Similarly, the seller defendants had a fiduciary duty to prudently appoint and monitor Argent, which was required to act in the sole interest of participants, and to refrain from engaging in prohibited transactions with the ESOP.

The case, Lloyd, et al. v. Argent Trust Company, et al., was filed on May 20, 2022 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The class was certified on October 31, 2025.

About Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a premier U.S. plaintiffs’ law firm, with over 100 attorneys across eight offices, champions the causes of real people – workers, consumers, small business owners, investors, and whistleblowers – working to deliver corporate reforms and fair markets for the common good. For more information visit https://www.cohenmilstein.com.

Contact: cohenmilstein@berlinrosen.com

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