An employee of Southeastern Grocers LLC has filed an ERISA lawsuit accusing the company of mismanaging its 401(k) plan by charging "grossly excessive" administrative fees.
"Southeastern breached its fiduciary duty of prudence by allowing Fidelity to receive compensation from plan participants without even knowing the amount of compensation Fidelity collects," said the complaint filed Sept. 27 in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Fla.
Fidelity Investments, the plan's record keeper, isn't a defendant in the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status in Ulch vs. Southeastern Grocers LLC.
Southeastern is the parent company of three grocery chains.
The 401(k) plan also paid certain indirect compensation to Fidelity that was allegedly "excessive relative to the specific services provided to the plan by Fidelity and excessive relative to prudent options in the marketplace," the lawsuit said.
"Southeastern should have done more to investigate, monitor, request, negotiate, and secure reasonable fees for the plan," the lawsuit said, referring to both direct and indirect fees to Fidelity.
A representative for Southeastern did not respond to a request for comment.
Southeastern Grocers 401(k) Savings Plan, Jacksonville, Fla., had $1.1 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to the latest Form 5500.
