Alliance Coal Escapes 401(k) Fee, Forfeiture Lawsuit, For Now

Alliance Coal LLC defeated claims that it mismanaged its employees’ retirement plan by hiring an inexperienced and pricey recordkeeper and using forfeited contributions for its own benefit.

The workers’ claims challenging their 401(k) administrative fees lack necessary details about the types of services received by their plan and the other plans they hold up as better-run alternatives, Judge Claire V. Eagan said Tuesday. It’s not enough to allege that 401(k) recordkeeping services are “fungible” across plans or that Alliance’s chosen recordkeeper was less experienced than other providers, the judge said.

Eagan, who sits in the US District Court for ...