ERISA Class Action Watch

The Southern District of Illinois has declined to dismiss a complaint that alleges that Lockheed’s 401(k) plan permitted participants to pay excessive and unreasonable fees. In a very short opinion, Judge Michael Reagan held that while “The Court agrees that Plaintiffs’ pleading is not necessarily a model of legal draftsmanship … it adequately performs its function of making a ’showing’ of entitlement to relief and giving notice to Lockheed of the relevant facts and the legal basis of Plaintiffs’ claims.”

Judge Reagan’s ruling contrasts sharply with the Western District of Wisconsin’s recent decision in Hecker et al v. Deere. In that case, Judge John Shabaz threw out virtually identical claims against Deere and its recordkeeper, Fidelity. This disagreement between district courts would seem to call for a resolution by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Abbott et al v. Lockheed Ruling on Motion to Dismiss
• Hecker et al v. Deere Ruling on Motion to Dismiss