Northrop Grumman 401(k) Class Suit Trimmed Again as Trial Looms

A class action targeting Northrop Grumman Corp.'s $19 billion 401(k) plan is moving toward trial after a federal judge rejected several of the pending claims against the company.

The certified class of more than 100,000 plan participants can go to trial on claims that the Northrop plan fiduciaries should have more quickly adopted a passive management strategy for the plan’s emerging markets fund, Judge André Birotte Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held Aug. 14.

But Northrop isn’t liable for allegedly failing to renegotiate 401(k) record-keeping fees in a competitive bidding process every three ...