GE Gets Judge to Rethink ERISA But Fails to Nix 401(k) Fund Suit

General Electric Co. still must face a proposed class action over the fees and affiliated mutual funds in its 401(k) plan, despite convincing a federal judge in Boston to revise her opinion green-lighting part of the case.

The revised Oct. 30 opinion by Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts clarifies the distinction between the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s fiduciary obligations and the statute’s prohibited transaction rules. But Talwani’s ultimate ruling—that the GE plan participants can move forward with prohibited transaction claims based on the GE-affiliated mutual funds in their plan—remains unchanged.

GE ...