The Capital Group ERISA Class Action

Case name: Cathy Pover, et al. v. The Capital Group Companies, Inc., et al.

Case type: ERISA

Filed in: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Case Summary

On November 14, 2023, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight filed a Class Action Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against The Capital Group Companies, Inc., on behalf of plaintiff Cathy Pover individually and as a representative of approximately 11,000 participants in The Capital Group Companies’ 401(k) plan. Named as defendants were The Capital Group Companies, Inc., the Board of Directors of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and its members, and the U.S. Retirement Benefits Committee of The Capital Group Companies, Inc. and its members.

The Complaint alleges that The Capital Group Defendants breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty and prudence under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by mismanaging their retirement funds. According to the Complaint, The Capital Group Defendants failed to prudently monitor and remove five of the 401(k) plan’s investment funds that had significantly underperformed for nearly a decade compared to their own benchmarks and to other similar investment funds. The consequences to employees were substantial, the suit alleges, as participants who invested in the plan lost millions of dollars as a result of The Capital Group Defendants’ breach of fiduciary duty.

On August 13, 2024, the Court denied Capital Group’s motion to compel arbitration and dismiss plaintiffs’ class Complaint.

The matter is in active litigation.