The participants of the United Bank Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “ESOP” or the “Plan”) hold United Bank Corporation stock through their ESOP accounts. Under the terms of the Plan, former employes who are participants were entitled to continue to hold company stock in their ESOP accounts until age 65.

Despite the right by former employee, to hold company stock in the Plan the United Bank stock of former employees in the Plan was involuntarily liquidated and converted to cash in October 2021. This removed the rights of Plaintiffs and the Class to continue to hold company stock and to take a distribution in the form of stock instead of cash. In December 2021, an amendment to the Plan was retroactively adopted effective September 23, 2021 to eliminate the right of former employees to continue to hold company stock until age 65.

Shortly after former employees were forced out of the ESOP, the Plan recognized a dividend of $23,307,638 in 2022 on the company stock. As a result of the 2021 Plan amendment, Plaintiffs and the Class could not share this substantial dividend or any future appreciation of company stock.

The 2021 Plan amendment also attempted to impose a binding arbitration provision and limit plan-wide remedies available under ERISA on former employees although they had been forced out as a participants prior to that date.

This lawsuit is brought on behalf of the following Class:

Participants in the United Bank Corporation Employee Stock Ownership Plan who terminated employment with UBC prior to September 23, 2021, who had not reached age 65 when the UBC stock in their Plan account was liquidated, and the beneficiaries of such participants.

Excluded from the Class are Defendants and their immediate families, any other fiduciaries of the Plan and their immediate families; the officers and directors of United Bank Corporation and United Bank and their immediate families, and legal representatives, successors, and assigns of any such excluded persons.

The Complaint was filed on September 23, 2024 in the Middle District of Georgia.

Complaint - September 23, 2024