Electric Utility Trade Group Can’t Escape Retirement Fee Lawsuit

A trade association representing hundreds of local electric cooperatives must defend a proposed class action challenging the administrative fees charged by its $15 billion retirement plan.

Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff denied the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s motion to dismiss the dispute in an order docketed Monday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Nachmanoff didn’t include a written explanation of his decision, saying he stated his reasons aloud during a Sept. 19 hearing.

• The three-month-old lawsuit, which seeks to represent a proposed class of more than 70,000 people, claims the association’s 401(k) plan charges “egregious” ...