Wells Fargo Loses Class Battle in Adviser Compensation Fight

A former Wells Fargo & Co. financial adviser won class status in his lawsuit accusing the bank of depriving him of hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred retirement benefits after he resigned in 2014.

In a rare move, the class ruling didn’t disclose how many individuals were included in the class, their geographical location, or the number of participants in the plan at issue.

The class would include all participants in the Wells Fargo Advisors’s deferral plan since February 2011 who earned deferred compensation and weren’t paid under the plan’s forfeiture clause.

The Oct. 9 ruling, issued by a ...