A federal judge in Denver has dismissed a lawsuit by three former employees of TTEC Services who said the company and its 401(k) plan executives violated ERISA due to high record-keeping fees and poor investment management.
"The court finds that plaintiffs have failed to adequately identify a 'meaningful benchmark' against which to compare TTEC plan's administrative fees," U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney wrote Dec. 11.
"Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA with regard to the administrative and recordkeeping expenses charged to participants," Sweeney wrote in Carimbocas et al. vs. TTEC Services Corp. et al. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status.
The judge also dismissed the investment management complaint noting that the plaintiffs offered only a single example comparing an unnamed fund to its replacement, the T. Rowe Price Overseas Stock Fund.
"Without an assertion that both funds shared the same investment objectives and strategies, plaintiffs cannot establish any breach of fiduciary duty based on the TTEC plan switching from one to the other," Sweeney wrote. "Thus, plaintiffs' allegations concerning the Overseas Stock Fund do not support any claim for breach of fiduciary duty." T. Rowe Price isn't a defendant in the case.
The ex-employees sued in August 2022 and later filed an amended complaint. The judge said plaintiffs could file an second amended complaint within 14 days.
TTEC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, Greenwood Village, Colo., had $258 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to the latest Form 5500.
