Franklin Resources and a former participant in the company's 401(k) plan settled a lawsuit that claimed the plan violated ERISA rules.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed pending a 60-day moratorium on any pretrial and trial deadlines, according to Dec. 6 court filings in U.S. District Court in San Francisco before Judge Claudia Wilken.
The former employee and plan participant, Marlon Cryer, sued the $1.1 billion Franklin Templeton 401(k) Retirement Plan, San Mateo, Calif., the parent company and plan executives in late July.
Mr. Cryer argued that "better-performing and lower-cost funds were available" and that the 401(k) plan should have offered a stable value fund instead of a money market fund," according to Mr. Cryer's original complaint.
"Defendants were motivated to cause the plan to invest in Franklin funds to benefit Franklin Templeton's investment management business," according to the complaint, which sought class-action status.
The plaintiff’s law firm, Bailey & Glasser, could not be immediately reached for further details. A spokesman for the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, representing Franklin Resources, said the firm had no other information on the settlement.
