Howell v. Motorola, Inc., et al.

Case Updates

Citing NCLC's brief, the Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded class certification orders in 4 related cases where plaintiffs alleged their employers mismanaged employees’ 401(k) accounts. The Seventh Circuit found that the certified classes were defined too broadly to meet the requirements of Rule 23(a).

NCLC urged the Seventh Circuit to reverse class certification for a group of plaintiffs alleging fiduciary breaches with respect to individual 401(k) accounts. In these consolidated ERISA cases, the plaintiffs accused the employer-defendants of breaching their fiduciary duties by, among other claims, continuing to offer company stocks as an investment option when the employers allegedly knew of their companies’ looming financial issues. In its brief, NCLC argued that the individualized nature of 401(k) accounts makes class certification inappropriate in these cases. NCLC warned that the improper certification of ERISA class actions will unduly raise the costs of ERISA plan administration and may force the businesses to reduce or decline to expand benefits.