Court Approves $1.5M Settlement in Amway ERISA Lawsuit
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A Michigan federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $1.5 million class action settlement to close the retirement lawsuit brought in 2020 by plan participants enrolled in the Amway Retirement Savings Plan.
The lawsuit filed by plaintiffs Joshua Garcia, Andrea P. Brandt and Howard Hart against the multi-level marketing company Amway’s parent company, Alticor Inc., alleged fiduciary breaches under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act for failing to monitor and control investment costs.
U.S. District Judge Paul L. Malone, presiding in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, called the agreement “fair, reasonable, and adequate” and granted preliminary approval of class action settlement on July 10. Malone approved the settlement and distribution of notice to the class. He also scheduled a fairness hearing to complete the settlement on November 18.
Court approval of the settlement was granted because the agreement was negotiated “vigorously and at arm’s length, between the plaintiffs’” counsel and attorneys for the defendants, Malone wrote.
The order to approve the agreement followed the plaintiffs’ unopposed July 1 motion for preliminary approval of class action settlement, according to the court docket. The agreement resulted from settlement negotiation between the parties convened on April 30, according to court documents.
The plaintiffs requested and Malone has approved Analytics LLC as the settlement administrator.
Content retrieved from: https://www.plansponsor.com/court-approves-1-5m-settlement-in-amway-erisa-lawsuit/.
