A federal court judge in Pittsburgh dismissed charges against Wesco Distribution Inc. and its 401(k) plan fiduciaries by participants who alleged several ERISA violations in plan management.
U.S. District Judge Marilyn J. Horan rejected the plaintiffs argument that the 401(k) plan charged excessive record-keeping fees.
"Plaintiffs' mere price tag to price tag comparison, accompanied by conclusory allegations and lack of detail as to the categories of fees, does not sufficiently plead a breach of duty of prudence" under ERISA, she wrote on Monday. "The complaint compares the plan's full amount of direct and indirect fees to other plans that only reference direct fees."
Ms. Horan also rejected the plaintiffs' allegations that plan executives should have chosen lower-priced mutual funds.
"These allegations are conclusory and contain insufficient facts to support that defendants' choice of such share classes breached their duty of prudence to the plaintiffs," Ms. Horan wrote in the case of Mator et al. vs. Wesco Distribution Inc. et al.
The participants sued in March 2021, seeking class-action status. The judge gave them until Oct. 18 to file an amended complaint. Otherwise, the case will be closed.
The Wesco Distribution Inc. Retirement Savings Plan had assets of $762 million as of Dec. 31, 2019, according to the company's Form 5500.
