Power Utility Trade Group Can’t Nix Lawsuit Over 401(k) Fees

A trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives and public utility districts must defend a proposed class action challenging the fees tied to its 401(k) plan, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia ruled.

Judge Liam O’Grady denied the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit raising claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Thaddius Intravaia, a participant in the association’s 401(k) plan, adequately alleged that the association acted imprudently and disloyally by allowing the plan’s fees to increase “in a marketplace which is otherwise exhibiting a downward trend,” O’Grady said in ...