Brenntag Settles Proposed Class Action Over Retirement Plan Fees

Global chemical distributor Brenntag North America Inc. told a federal judge in Pennsylvania it will settle a lawsuit challenging the fees tied to its retirement plan.

The settlement, announced Monday, would resolve a proposed class action by four former employees who said the company filled its $400 million retirement plan with expensive retail mutual funds without adequately investigating the possibility of cheaper alternatives. These funds, along with the plan’s allegedly excessive record keeping fees, cost workers millions of dollars in retirement savings, the lawsuit claimed.

The deal comes six months after the lawsuit was filed and before Brenntag filed a ...