Chamber Backs Fourth Circuit Limits on ERISA Class Certification

A lawsuit challenging a trade association’s retirement plan fee levels was wrongly certified as a class action despite Fourth Circuit case law to the contrary, the US Chamber of Commerce told the appeals court.

The Chamber urged the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to hear an appeal asking it to undo the certification of a 100,000-person class of participants in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s retirement plan. If this decision stands, it would “provide a playbook for improperly certifying class actions in ERISA cases” and “nullify this Court’s unanimous decision” undoing the certification of a similar ...