A federal judge in Green Bay, Wis., has again dismissed a complaint against Faith Technologies Inc. and its 401(k) plan fiduciaries by a participant who accused plan executives of violating ERISA in mismanaging the plan.
U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach on Jan. 19 dismissed the amended complaint in Genna B. Laabs vs. Faith Technologies Inc. et al. and rejected the plaintiff's request to amend the complaint again.
Acting on a recommendation from a magistrate judge, Griesbach dismissed the allegation of excessive record-keeping fees because the plaintiff's effort to compare the defendants' record-keeping fees with other plans was legally insufficient.
"Without any comparators, the complaint contains no allegations that the amount of record-keeping and administrative fees paid by the plan breached the fiduciary duty of prudence," Griesbach wrote.
The judge rejected the plaintiff's request to file an amended complaint.
"This case was filed on Oct. 2, 2020, and defendants have already been through two rounds of motions to dismiss," he wrote.
The plaintiff wanted to add more comparator plans to her lawsuit, but Griesbach said she should have done so in her previous amended complaint.
The judge dismissed the original complaint in December 2022, giving the plaintiff the opportunity refile. The original complaint contained an allegation of excessive investment management fees, but the plaintiff didn't contest the magistrate judge's recommendation for dismissal, so Griesbach dismissed this allegation.
Faith Technologies Inc. 401(k) Retirement Plan, Menasha, Wis., had $271 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2020, according to the latest Form 5500.