ABB Settles for $55 Million

ABB recently announced the settlement of a lawsuit involving its 401(k) Plan. This settlement is another victory for the law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton in St. Louis. Earlier this year, it obtained a $10 million settlement in a suit brought against Duke University. Filed in 2013, this suit has now dragged on for almost 13 years. It was one of the first class action suits against a retirement plan under ERISA. As in all such class actions, the plan in question is substantial. ABB has 24,000 employees and about $2 billion in plan assets. The alleged fiduciary violations are typical for these kinds of suits – poor investment choices and excessive fees that, in this case, were used to subsidize services provided to other plans. The case went to trial in 2010, resulting in a $36 million judgment for the plaintiffs. On appeal, the judgment was overturned and the case remanded for further proceedings.  The Schlichter firm has obtained large settlements in other class actions including $57 million against Boeing and the largest settlement to date in these types of suits – $62 million against Lockheed Martin. Attorney’s fees and other details of the settlement have yet to be announced.

ACR#315762 05/19