Anthem 401(k) Settlement Gives Schlichter $8 Million in Fees

The lawyers who negotiated a $23.7 million class settlement with an Anthem Inc. subsidiary won nearly $8.4 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses, pursuant to an order from a federal judge in the Southern District of Indiana.

Schlichter Bogard & Denton LLP, which represented a class of thousands of participants in Anthem Inc.'s $5.1 billion 401(k) plan, is entitled to one-third of the monetary settlement it negotiated, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said. She noted that the deal also included “significant and powerful” non-monetary relief, including plan design changes and tax benefits, which bumped the deal’s total value to more than $62 million.

Walton’s order was full of praise for Schlichter Bogard, which has negotiated similar multi-million dollar settlements in 401(k) suits against Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., and ABB Inc.

“This Court notes that no 401(k) excessive fee cases had been filed before Class Counsel pioneered them, and agrees with other courts that the work of Jerome Schlichter and Schlichter Bogard & Denton ‘illustrates an exceptional example of a private attorney general risking large sums of money and investing thousands of hours for the benefit of employees and retirees,’” Pratt said.

The lawsuit, filed in 2015, claimed Anthem’s 401(k) plan offered high-fee mutual fund share classes and paid excessive administrative fees. The settlement requires the Anthem defendants to give employees more information about the risks tied to certain 401(k) investments and to hire an outside consultant to advise on the plan’s investment lineup.

Pratt granted preliminary approval to the settlement in April—one week before the case was set for trial.

Seyfarth Shaw LLP represented Anthem Inc.

The case is Bell v. Pension Comm. of Ath Holding Co., S.D. Ind., No. 1:15-cv-02062-TWP-MPB, 9/4/19.