On October 12, 2021, Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. (“Aon”) defeated a class action in the Western District of North Carolina brought by nearly 250,000 current and former Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (“Lowe’s”) employees who were participants in Lowe’s 401(k) retirement plan (the “Plan”). Plaintiffs alleged that Aon and Lowe’s breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty
401(k)
Motion for Class Certification Denied: Plaintiff Who Released ERISA Claims Deemed Unfit to Lead Class
Can a former employee serve as a class representative for ERISA claims when she has signed a general release agreement and has waived her right to participate in class actions? According to a recent decision by the District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the answer may very well be “no.”
That court dealt…
Ohio District Court Dismisses ERISA 401(k) Performance and Fee Putative Class Action
The District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently dismissed an ERISA putative class action lawsuit asserting fiduciary duty claims based on allegations of unreasonably high administrative fees and relatively higher-cost, underperforming funds offered in TriHealth, Inc.’s 401(k) plan (the “Plan”).
Plaintiffs were TriHealth 401(k) Plan participants and beneficiaries. On behalf of a putative…
401(k) Fee Class Action Against Oshkosh Corporation Dismissed with Prejudice
Recently, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted a Motion to Dismiss, dismissing ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims, failure to monitor claims, and prohibited transaction claims in a putative class action involving Oshkosh Corporation’s 401(k) Plan. The plaintiff supported those claims with allegations of excessive recordkeeping fees, excessive share…
United States District Court Dismisses 401(k) Plan Recordkeeper Fee Complaint
Recently, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted a Motion to Dismiss, dismissing ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims based on excessive recordkeeping fee allegations. The district court addressed the level of detail plaintiffs must provide to move an ERISA breach of fiduciary duty recordkeeping fee allegation from possible to…
Fifth Circuit: Plan Participants Lacked Standing to Bring ERISA Fiduciary Breach Claims
American Airlines, Inc. and its affiliated credit union recently defeated an appeal challenging a low-yield investment option in the airline’s 401(k) plan when the Fifth Circuit ruled that the plan participants lacked Article III standing to bring their ERISA claims.
In 2016, the plaintiffs filed suit on behalf of a putative class of nearly 20,000…
Plaintiff Lacks Standing to Challenge Retirement Plan Investment Options and Fees
On July 16, 2021, the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin dismissed without prejudice four ERISA claims brought by a former employee alleging mismanagement of Infinity’s defined-contribution 401(k) plan. Plaintiff’s two Fair Labor Standards Act claims were not at issue and remain pending.
Plaintiff alleged that plan fiduciaries violated their fiduciary duties by…
ERISA 401(k) Performance and Fee Litigation Dismissed for Failure to Provide Comparable Benchmark
The District Court for the Southern District of Iowa recently dismissed an ERISA putative class action lawsuit challenging 401(k) performance and fees after plan participants failed to identify appropriate benchmarks in their complaint.
The court reinforced the Eighth Circuit’s standards for stating such claims, requiring that the plaintiffs allege facts establishing “a meaningful benchmark for…
Tenth Circuit Affirms Damages Based on Revenue Credit, and Makes Clear That Arms-Length Service Agreements Without Evidence of A Prior Relationship Are Not Prohibited Transactions
On appeal following a bench trial of claims brought by a class of participants and beneficiaries of a 401(k) plan, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the decision of the District of Colorado calculating damages and prejudgment interest, denying injunctive relief, and finding the employer did not engage in a “prohibited transaction” under ERISA Section 406, 29…
Third Circuit to Consider Class Certification Issues Percolating in ERISA Fee Litigation
The Third Circuit will review a Pennsylvania district court’s decision to certify a 60,000+ person class in an ERISA fiduciary breach lawsuit claiming mismanagement of a defined contribution plan’s investments and recordkeeping fees. This appeal queues up guidance on a hotly litigated issue in recent ERISA cases: can defined contribution plan participants challenge the prudence…