Group Granted Class Status Against ANB
by November 15, 2010 12:00 am 115 views
A U.S. District Court judge has granted a group of former ANB Bancshare employees class action status in their suit against the failed bank holding company and seven of its former directors.
The defendants include its former chairman and founder of the bank, Dan Dykema.
District Judge Robert T. Dawson signed the order on November 4, 14 business days after a recommendation from U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin L. Setser.
The directors also served as ANB’s employee stock ownership committee. Jan Taylor, Carla Crosswhite and Laura Godsey allege the group breached its fiduciary duty to the plan and failed to disclose information necessary for employees to protect their retirement savings.
Mismanagement of the bank led to a loss of more than $50 million in the bank’s stock value.
Other directors named in the suit are Harry Brown, Gregory Landis, Debra Jackson, Eric Brown, Blake Evans and Vic Evans.
Don Kendall, partner with the Kendall Drewyor Law Firm in Rogers, is the local firm representing Taylor. He said there are about 250 class members to be notified, which will be done in the near future.
Discovery and depositions in the case are ongoing, Kendall said.