New England 401(k) Fee Suits Forge Employers’ Longshot Bid

Lawyers in class suits challenging retirement plan fees have noticed the cases are faring particularly well in New England, prompting some employers to look for a shortcut to get a friendly ruling from an appeals court.

Federal judges in Massachusetts and New Hampshire have allowed about a dozen retirement fee challenges to advance to discovery over motions to dismiss in the past few years. Employers defending their plans’ fee levels have been virtually shut out, with no recent decisions going their way at the motion to dismiss stage.

Two Boston health systems that are accused of mismanaging their retirement plans ...