Acadia Healthcare reached a settlement in three derivative lawsuits that had been running since 2019 and 2020, with the company agreeing to pay $12 million and an additional $4.75 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses.
The settlement resolves claims first brought in the federal derivative action filed Feb. 21, 2019, the Pfenning action filed Oct. 23, 2020, and the Solak action filed Feb. 24, 2021. Together, those cases had been deferred repeatedly while related securities litigation played out, then revived with amended complaints in 2025.
The litigation timeline stretched across more than three years of negotiations and multiple mediations. A Nov. 16, 2023 mediation failed to produce a deal. A second mediation scheduled for May 14, 2025 was canceled after the securities class action hit an impasse. A third mediation on Dec. 16, 2025 also ended without agreement, but it led to a mediator’s proposal for $12 million, which the parties accepted on Dec. 23, 2025.
The corporate governance reforms were finalized on Jan. 13, 2026. The fee-and-expense payment of $4.75 million was agreed to after further mediator-facilitated negotiations and a double-blind proposal on Feb. 25, 2026.
The underlying cases had expanded over time. Davydov’s amended complaint in February 2025 added claims including insider selling and allegations of criminal and ethical violations. Pfenning’s amended complaint in May 2025 added insider trading allegations. Solak’s case had already included claims for fiduciary breaches, unjust enrichment, waste, and insider trading.
In the background, Acadia had produced more than 800 pages of books-and-records documents to both Pfenning and Solak, and later produced securities-related document sets used in the amended pleadings and mediation submissions. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -2.49%, and are now trading at a price of $27.80. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
