USC Can’t Force Arbitration of Retirement Fee Lawsuit: 9th Cir. (1) (Corrected)

The University of Southern California can’t force its retirement plan investors to take their fiduciary breach claims to arbitration, a federal appeals court ruled.

The decision could be a blow to litigants such as Charles Schwab Corp. and Franklin Templeton, which are trying to use employment agreements to force their workers’ fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to arbitration and bar them from seeking class status, respectively.

The ruling is a clear victory for the workers who sued the university two years ago in federal court in California. They have repeatedly opposed the university’s attempt ...