Safeway Workers Denied Pre-Trial Win in 401(k) Lawsuit

Current and former Safeway Inc. employees who challenged the JPMorgan target-date funds in the company’s $1.9 billion 401(k) plan can’t win their case without a trial.

The employees aren’t entitled to summary judgment on claims that the Safeway defendants acted imprudently and disloyally by including the target-date funds in the plan, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held.

The employees’ claims turn on unresolved factual questions about why the Safeway defendants selected the disputed funds for the plan and whether they adequately monitored them, Tigar said.

The proposed class action, along ...