US Labor Department sues trustee of defunct Mentor, Ohio, company to recover profit sharing plan assets

MENTOR, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the trustee of the North Coast Wood Products Profit Sharing Plan, Harry Fishleigh III, for improperly transferring $96,837.63 in plan assets to his son, Steven Fishleigh, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

"This case demonstrates a clear breach of fiduciary duty on the part of the trustee," said Paul C. Baumann, director of the Cincinnati Regional Office of the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration. "When plan fiduciaries fail to act in the best interest of plan participants, the Labor Department will hold them accountable."

The suit alleges that the defendant transferred the total plan assets, belonging to 11 participants, to his son from July 2006 to July 2009. The defendant was president and part owner of Mentor-based North Coast Wood Products Inc., which ceased operations in late 2005.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland, the suit seeks to restore to the plan all losses, including lost opportunity costs. The suit also seeks the distribution of plan assets to affected plan participants and to permanently bar the defendant from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to any employee benefit plan covered by ERISA.

The department's legal action resulted from an investigation by EBSA's Cincinnati office. Employers and workers can contact that office at 859-578-4680 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for assistance with problems related to private sector pension and health plans.

EBSA protects the security of the retirement, health and other workplace-related benefits of America's workers, retirees and their families. The agency oversees approximately 708,000 private sector retirement plans, 2.8 million health plans and other plans that provide benefits to more than 150 million Americans. Collectively, these plans hold more than $6 trillion in assets. Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Harry Fishleigh III, North Coast Wood Products Profit Sharing Plan
Civil Action Number: 1:11-cv-00936

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