Opinion
8:21-cv-301-JVS-KES
03-12-2024
ROBERT LAUDERDALE, JOSHUA CARRELL, TING SHEN WANG, LEONARD DICKHAUT, ROBERT CROW, AUBIN NTELA, and RODNEY AARON RIGGINS, individually and as representatives of a class of participants and beneficiaries on behalf of the Wood 401k Plan fka the Wood Group 401k Plan, Plaintiffs, v. NFP RETIREMENT, INC., FLEXPATH STRATEGIES, LLC, WOOD GROUP U.S. HOLDINGS, INC., WOOD GROUP MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC. NKA WOOD GROUP USA, INC., THE COMMITTEE OF THE WOOD 401K PLAN,
FINAL JUDGMENT
HONORABLE JAMES V. SELNA, JUDGE.
On November 17, 2022, the Court (a) granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant NFP Retirement, Inc. (“NFP”) as to Counts II and III of the Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”), dismissed Count I against NFP, and dismissed NFP from the action; and (b) granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants Wood Group U.S. Holdings, Inc. f/k/a Wood Group Management Services, Inc., and the Committee of the Wood 401(k) Plan (“Wood Defendants”) as to Counts I, II, and III of the SAC. ECF No. 275. During a nine-day bench trial beginning on March 21, 2023 and concluding on September 6, 2023, the remaining parties to this action tried Counts I, III, IV, and V of the SAC before the Court. On February 23, 2024, this Court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law in favor of the Wood Defendants and Defendant flexPATH Strategies, LLC (“flexPATH”) and against Plaintiffs Robert Lauderdale, Joshua Carrell, Ting Shen Wang, Leonard Dickhaut, Robert Crow, Aubin Ntela, and Rodney Riggins (“Plaintiffs”) on all remaining Counts of the SAC. ECF No. 414.
Pursuant to Rule 58 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, in accordance with the Court's February 8, 2022 Order on Defendants' Motions to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint (ECF No. 150), the Court's November 17, 2022 Order Regarding Motions for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 275), and the Court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law dated February 23, 2024 (ECF No. 414), issued after the Court presided over a nine-day bench trial beginning on March 21, 2023 and concluding on September 6, 2023, and the entirety of the record available, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED THAT judgment on the merits be entered in favor of the Defendants on Plaintiffs' claims, that Plaintiffs take nothing in this action, and the Defendants are the prevailing parties.
This Court FURTHER ORDERS that Defendants are entitled to costs under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54, taxed in a sum to be determined by applying to the Clerk's Office in the usual course.