American Airlines 401(k) ESG Lawsuit Certified as Class Action

A pilot suing American Airlines Inc. over its 401(k) plan’s alleged ties to investments focused on environmental, social, and corporate governance goals won a court order certifying the case as a class action covering as many as 100,000 people.

American argued that the case’s legal theory—that the airline wrongly offered funds managed companies that pursue ESG policy goals through proxy voting and shareholder activism—couldn’t be resolved on a class-wide basis because it requires a “proxy vote-by-proxy vote analysis.” Judge Reed O’Connor disagreed in an order issued Wednesday, saying the class members’ alleged injuries “flow from a common set of facts” ...