Tucker Ellis attorneys Scott Stitt and Anna-Sophie Tirre secured a complete defense victory for client Horizon Bank d/b/a Horizon Trust & Investment Management in a high-stakes ERISA arbitration involving claims related to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) transaction. On behalf of Horizon, the Tucker Ellis team successfully defended against allegations that Horizon violated ERISA by engaging in a prohibited transaction when it served as ESOP trustee in connection with the $53 million acquisition of P.L. Marketing, Inc. in June 2017. After a three-day evidentiary hearing in Cincinnati, Ohio, Arbitrator John C. Roach issued a Final Award on December 31, 2025, denying all the claimants’ claims against Horizon. Tucker Ellis’s arbitration team was supported by Coordinator of Trial Technology David Hess.