Huntington Bancshares 401(k) Class Counsel Want $3.7 Million

The attorneys who negotiated a $10.5 million ERISA settlement on behalf of participants in Huntington Bancshares Inc.'s 401(k) plan asked an Ohio federal judge to award them nearly $3.7 million in fees and expenses.

A fee of one-third the settlement amount is in line with awards in other Employee Retirement Income Security Act class actions, the attorneys said in a motion filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

And it’s warranted because the settlement gives class members about 30% of the total damages alleged in the case, which “compares favorably with other class action settlements,” the attorneys said.

The settlement received preliminary approval from Judge Michael H. Watson after he largely denied Huntington’s motion to dismiss in 2019. It is expected to benefit about 39,000 participants in the company’s 401(k) plan.

The deal resolves a lawsuit that sought to hold Huntington liable under ERISA for allegedly filling its 401(k) plan with underperforming proprietary mutual funds and paying excessive administrative fees to a subsidiary.

The case is one of dozens of recent lawsuits challenging financial companies that include affiliated investment products in their 401(k) plans. Several companies have signed multimillion-dollar settlements, including Reliance Trust Co. ($39.8 million), McKinsey & Co. ($39.5 million), SunTrust Banks Inc. ($29 million), Fidelity Investments ($28.5 million), BB&T Corp. ($24 million), and Deutsche Bank ($21.9 million).

The Huntington plan participants are represented by Nichols Kaster PLLP and Barkan, Meizlish, DeRose, Wentz, McInerney, Peifer LLP.

Huntington is represented by Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and Sidley Austin LLP.

The case is Karpik v. Huntington Bancshares Inc., S.D. Ohio, No. 2:17-cv-01153, motion for attorneys’ fees 1/5/21.