SeaWorld 401(k) Fee Challenge Moves Forward After Trim by Judge

Participants in SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc.'s $292 million 401(k) plan advanced the bulk of their lawsuit challenging the plan’s fees and investment options.

The participants can move forward with claims that the plan improperly offered funds in overly expensive share classes, Judge Robert S. Huie said in an order partially denying SeaWorld’s motion to dismiss. SeaWorld argued it was required to offer these funds under its contract with the plan’s recordkeeper, but Huie said the company can’t defeat this claim by arguing that its “hands were tied” by a contract it “voluntarily negotiated and entered.”

Huie also declined to ...