L Brands, Inc. Settlement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
deLeeuw Law LLC and Greenfield & Goodman LLC Help Secure Landmark Settlement Involving Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Claims Concerning
L Brands Inc., Its former Subsidiary Victoria’s Secret, and Jeffrey Epstein
Wilmington, Del., July 30, 2021 – deLeeuw Law LLC and Greenfield & Goodman LLC announce the resolution, subject to Court approval, of a stockholder derivative action in which plaintiff Nancy Lambrecht alleges that present and former senior executive officers and members of L Brands, Inc.’s Board of Directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to address and remedy an entrenched corporate culture of misogyny, bullying, and sexual harassment. The resolution of the Delaware action is part of a groundbreaking settlement obtained by Lambrecht and other L Brands, Inc. stockholders that requires a $90 million funding commitment ($45 million by Victoria’s Secret & Co. and $45 million by Bath & Body Works, Inc.) to fund industry-leading corporate governance and management measures, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to protect employees from sexual harassment and discrimination. In addition, both companies have agreed to release current and former employees from non-disclosure agreements so they may speak publicly about their experiences.
Additional specific terms of the settlement include the establishment of a DEI council, the hiring of an independent DEI consultant, and revamped internal policies and training procedures for addressing and reporting harassment and discrimination. Furthermore, both companies will exempt harassment and discrimination claims from previously mandatory arbitration. These initiatives are designed to foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace culture.
“We’re quite proud of the result here and are quite happy that our client’s demands and litigation efforts contributed to this landmark settlement,” says Richard D. Greenfield, one of Lambrecht's lawyers who specializes in representing shareholders in governance and fraud-related lawsuits.
“I think this settlement sets the stage for improving harassment, diversity, and inclusion policies in the workplace for all employees – not just those working for L Brand companies,” adds Brad deLeeuw, founder of deLeeuw Law LLC. “That’s why I feel honored to be involved in this. It’s a much needed and long-overdue precedent for cultural improvements in our work environments. It’s definitely a step forward.”
deLeeuw Law LLC and Greenfield & Goodman LLC represent plaintiff Lambrecht in the stockholder derivative case Lambrecht v. Wexner, C.A. No. 2021-0029-JTL filed on behalf of nominal defendant L Brands, Inc. in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Lambrecht’s complaint alleges that L Brand's senior executive officers and board members' "failures of oversight" and "egregious mismanagement... resulted in reputational harm to the Company, share price volatility, investigations and financial damages.”
If approved, The Stipulation of Settlement, which was filed with Judge Michael H. Watson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, will resolve the Delaware action and all stockholder derivative claims alleging workplace misconduct at the company, including those made in derivative stockholder litigations pending in Ohio and Delaware and in stockholder
demands sent to the Board of Directors since February 2020. In addition to deLeeuw Law LLC and Greenfield & Goodman LLC, the law firms Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Bernstein Liebhard LLP, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP collaborated to achieve this unprecedented settlement.
On August 2, 2021, L Brands, Inc completed its previously announced spin-off of Victoria’s Secret & Co. and name change from L Brands, Inc. to Bath & Body Works, Inc. Each company will invest $45 million over the course of five years to support its new policies.
More about deLeeuw Law LLC and Greenfield & Goodman, LLC
deLeeuw Law LLC prosecutes stockholder derivative and class actions, securities and consumer class actions, and other complex litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the District of Delaware and other Delaware courts. Greenfield & Goodman LLC and its predecessor firms have pursued shareholder litigation throughout the United States for more than 50 years.
Contact:
Brad deLeeuw
Founder
deLeeuw Law LLC
(302) 274-2180
deleeuwlaw.com