Baxter International 401(k) Stable Value Fund Suit Falls Flat

Illinois-based health-care company Baxter International Inc. defeated a lawsuit challenging the stable value fund in its employees’ 401(k) plan, but the worker who filed suit can amend his complaint and try again.

The lawsuit claims Baxter’s stable value fund chronically underperformed similar investment options, but the complaint doesn’t include a “uniform benchmark” that would allow the court to make this conclusion, Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins said. Plaintiff Charles Clinton identified other funds that allegedly performed better than Baxter’s, but he doesn’t include consistent, year-over-year comparisons, Jenkins said.

“Clinton must show—at minimum—that there were year-in, year-out better-performing alternatives that cast doubt ...