NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  A New York federal court granted final approval of a settlement worth over $22.5 million to Dallas BBQ restaurant workers and retirees. The settlement resolves a hotly contested certified class action against Argent Trust Company and former Dallas BBQ restaurant owners Herbert Wetanson, Gregor Wetanson, and Stuart Wetanson for causing the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to overpay for Dallas BBQ stock in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and against the Wetansons’ family trusts (the BBQ Trust and the Gregor Wetanson 2015 Gift Trust) to recover assets transferred to those trusts.

The terms of the settlement include $10 million in cash and defendants’ guarantee to eliminate debt owed to them from the ESOP transaction worth approximately $12.5 million, which increases the restaurant’s stock value held by class members. Finally, former Dallas BBQ restaurant workers will have the opportunity to cash out their stock from ESOP accounts over a period of 5 years.

With 11 restaurants throughout Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and New Jersey, Dallas BBQ has been a budget-friendly staple of the greater New York dining scene for nearly 50 years. In 2022, workers who filed this ERISA class action alleged that the ESOP acquired 400,000 shares of Dallas BBQ common stock from the Wetansons in July 2016 for an aggregate price of $98,887,309 – significantly more than fair market value of those shares.

“I commend the class representatives for stepping forward to serve the ESOP and their fellow participants in this ERISA class action,” said Michelle C. Yau, chair of Cohen Milstein’s ERISA & Employee Benefits practice. “This is a tremendous recovery for them and a testament to their interest in Dallas BBQ’s success.”

The case, Lloyd, et al. v. Argent Trust Company, et al., was filed on May 20, 2022 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The class was certified on October 31, 2025. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a summary affirmance of the District Court’s December 6, 2022 ruling that an arbitration clause in the workers’ contracts was not enforceable under ERISA.

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