A federal court judge in Chicago has dismissed an ERISA complaint against Exelon Corp. filed by seven participants in a company 401(k) plan who contended plan executives allowed excessively high record-keeping fees and investment advisory fees compared to similar plans.
"On the matter of recordkeeping fees, plaintiffs plead no facts to show whether the selected comparators receive recordkeeping services of a similar nature and quality to those offered by the plan's recordkeeper," U.S. District Court Judge John Robert Blakey wrote in his Sept. 22 opinion.
"Similarly, on the matter of investment advisory services, plaintiffs plead no facts to show that the services offered by comparator plans are comparable to those offered by the plan's selected service provider," the judge wrote in Baumeister et al. vs. Exelon Corp. et al.
As for claims of high fund-management costs compared to similar plans, "in the absence of facts to show that the comparator funds are appropriate benchmarks, the comparative performance data remains insufficient to state a claim," the judge wrote.
The participants also claimed that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA's duty of loyalty, a guideline covering self-dealing and conflict of interest. "Plaintiffs plead no facts showing a conflict of interest or any other disloyal behavior," the judge wrote.
The participants sued in December 2021, seeking class-action status.
Mr. Blakey wrote that they could file an amended complaint by Oct. 31.
The Exelon Corp. Employee Savings Plan had assets of $11.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to the latest Form 5500.
