A federal appeals court in Chicago has upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Oshkosh Corp. and 401(k) plan fiduciaries by a former participant who alleged nine violations of ERISA.
The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday supported the September 2021 ruling by a U.S. District Court judge in Green Bay, Wis., that the plaintiff failed to provide sufficient information to overcome the defendants motion to dismiss.
The plaintiff sued in June 2020 alleging, among other things, that the company and its fiduciaries charged excessive record-keeping fees and should have offered less expensive investments in the plan lineup, according to the case of Andrew Albert vs. Oshkosh Corp. et al. The plaintiff, who is seeking class-action status, also argued that the plan overpaid for investment advisers and consultants even though other providers charged less and had better performance histories.
The appeals court judges noted that the District Court ruling occurred before the U.S. Supreme Court issued an 8-0 opinion in January 2022 that told fiduciaries they had to monitor all investments, not just some. In the case of Hughes et al. vs. Northwestern University et al., the Supreme Court reversed a pro-sponsor ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded the case back to the appeals court.
In the Oshkosh case, the appeals court judges said the Supreme Court ruling didn't affect issues under consideration by their court or by the U.S. District Court in Green Bay. The Hughes case is still pending before the appeals court.
"At no point did the (district) court rely on the categorical rule the Supreme Court rejected in Hughes," the appeals judges wrote.
Oshkosh Corp. and Affiliates Tax Deferred Investment Plan, Oshkosh, Wis., had $1.6 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2020, according to the latest Form 5500.
