Perez v. Laura M. Prioli and Stephen C. Main involving the failure to remit employee contributions to the 401(k) Plan of Gulf Shores Marina in Florida

Date of Action: Sept. 16, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s):  Gulf Shores Marina LLC, Laura M. Prioli, Stephen C. Main, and the GSM/RYS 401(k) Plan 

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the secretary of labor filed a complaint alleging that during the period from Oct. 9, 2009 through Sept. 21, 2012, defendants Gulf Shore Marina LLC, Laura M. Prioli, and Stephen C. Main withheld a total of $111,211.13 in employee contributions and $16,745.32 in participant loan repayments from employee participants’ pay, failed to segregate these funds as soon as they reasonably could have been segregated from the company’s assets, and failed to timely forward them to the plan in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Additionally, during this same time period, defendants Prioli, Main, and Gulf Shores Marina LLC withheld a total of $67,600.46 in employee contributions, failed to segregate the contributions from company assets as soon as they reasonably could do so, and never forwarded them to the plan. 

During the periods that employee contributions were not remitted to the plan, as required, defendants caused or allowed the contributions and loan repayments to be commingled with the general assets of the company and used them for the company’s purposes and obligations rather than for the exclusive benefit of the plan and the participants.

Resolution: The department is asking the court to order Gulf Shores LLC, Prioli, and Main to restore to the plan all losses, including interest or lost opportunity costs, which occurred as a result of their breaches of fiduciary obligations; appoint an independent fiduciary; enjoin Gulf Shores LLC, Prioli, and Main from violating Title I of ERISA; and permanently enjoin them from serving as a fiduciary of any employee benefit plan subject to the coverage of ERISA.

Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division

Docket Number: 8:14-cv-02318-JSM-EAJ

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755.