Cumulus Media 401(k) Fee Challenge Blocked by Release Agreement

Cumulus Media Inc. defeated a proposed class action challenging its retirement plan fees by pointing to a release agreement the named plaintiff signed when he left the company in 2019, according to an Atlanta federal judge’s order.

Dan Alfonso argued his release agreement doesn’t bar claims for fiduciary breach under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, because those claims “belong to, and are brought on behalf of, the Plan” and can’t be waived by an individual participant. Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia disagreed, saying Alfonso’s release agreement blocks him ...