TAMPA, FL – For the second time, Carlton Fields successfully represented Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in a class action lawsuit over the university’s retirement plan. Earlier today, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida accepted the parties’ stipulation and dismissed the suit with prejudice and without payment of any settlement.
The lawsuit was brought as a class action alleging the university breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA, a federal law that governs most retirement plans sponsored by businesses and universities throughout the country. The complaint alleged that Embry-Riddle paid excessive fees to the record-keeper for its 403(b) retirement plan and failed to monitor the investment options in the plan, including the share classes of certain plan fund options. The university strongly denied these claims and maintained they were frivolous.
This was the second class action alleging similar claims. In the first, filed in 2022, the court denied class certification, granted summary judgment to Embry-Riddle in November 2024, and ordered the plaintiff to pay costs to the university.
Markham Leventhal, who heads up Carlton Fields’ retirement plan litigation practice, noted the university had a diligent team of senior executives who actively managed the plan with the assistance of a professional investment adviser. “They negotiated several reductions in the record-keeping fee over the years and consistently monitored and reviewed all of the plan’s investments. I thought the claims in the complaint were absolutely baseless, and it was good to see the university fully vindicated,” Leventhal said.
Other companies are not so fortunate. “Unfortunately, it has become very easy for plaintiffs’ counsel to file ERISA lawsuits attacking the way a business is managing its 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan,” he added. “We are seeing new class action lawsuits attacking retirement plans on a regular basis. The courts need to do a better job of throwing these cases out on motions to dismiss. Very few companies have the courage to stand up and take these cases to trial.”
In both suits, Embry-Riddle was defended by a team from Carlton Fields including Markham Leventhal, Allison Oasis Kahn, Irma Solares, Jason Gould, and Sean Hughes.
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