Updated with correction.
A federal court judge in Boston has continued to throw out ERISA violation allegations by participants in a Schneider Electric Holdings Inc. retirement plan, but he also ruled that some allegations remain pending.
In his latest opinion, on Jan. 24, U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton agreed to a request for summary judgment by Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting — now known as Aon — removing the firm from the case of Turner et al. vs. Schneider Electric Holdings Inc. et al.
Aon remains the investment consultant to the Schneider 401(k) plan. "We are pleased the court granted our motion for summary judgment," an Aon spokesman wrote in an email.
The judge also granted summary judgment to Schneider for several allegations of ERISA violations, including the claim that the plan charged unreasonable investment management fees and that the company failed to monitor fiduciaries.
The allegations of excessive fees charged by four Vanguard Group funds "remains pending," the judge wrote. Vanguard isn't a defendant.
A motion for summary judgment is usually filed after the parties have completed discovery, giving a judge the opportunity to review details of a case. A motion to dismiss, usually requested soon after a complaint is filed, argues that the plaintiff has failed to state a claim.
The initial complaint against Schneider and Aon was filed in May 2020 by seven former and current participants in the Schneider 401(k) plan. Since then, Mr. Gorton has dismissed several allegations against both defendants, culminating in the recent granting of summary judgment.
As of Dec. 31, 2021, the Schneider Electric 401(k) Plan, Westmont, Ill., had assets of $5.23 billion, according to its latest Form 5500 filing.
