Southcoast Hospital’s $2 Million Retirement Deal Gets Early OK

Massachusetts-based Southcoast Hospitals Group Inc. got preliminary federal court approval for a $2 million class settlement in a lawsuit claiming it mismanages its $886 million retirement plan by filling it with overly expensive investment options and charging excessive administrative fees.

The settlement resolves an 11-month-old lawsuit claiming Southcoast plan fiduciaries failed to adequately monitor the fees and performance of the plan’s investment options or take action to rein in the plan’s “astronomical” record keeping fees. Between 5,000 and 10,000 plan participants are expected to benefit under the deal, according to the parties’ settlement papers.

Judge Leo T. Sorokin of ...