Latest Northwestern Retirement Plan Ruling Spells More Lawsuits

Northwestern University workers who took their lawsuit over the school’s retirement plan to the US Supreme Court revived part of their lawsuit Thursday, in a Seventh Circuit opinion that attorneys say eliminates certain defenses and could lead to more lawsuits.

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit’s decision reviving two claims against Northwestern did something the Supreme Court declined to do when it weighed the case in 2022: it articulated a pleading standard for claims of fiduciary breach tied to retirement plan fees and investment options.

According to the appeals court, a breach claim will fail when there’s ...