Northrop Grumman Plaintiffs Win Class Certification

March 30, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A federal judge in California has certified as a class plaintiffs suing Northrop Grumman Corporation in an excessive 401(k) plan fee case.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Morrow of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California came in the long-running case naming the corporations and a number of individuals. The case was originally filed in September 2006.

Plaintiffs claimed the defendants violated their Employee Retirement Income Security (ERISA) fiduciary responsibilities by including in their retirement plans investment options for which plaintiffs claim the fees were too high.

According to Morrow’s order, the class now includes all persons, excluding defendants, the Committees and/or other individuals who are or may be liable for the conduct described in the complaint, who within the period of the statute of limitations are or were participants or beneficiaries of the Northrop Grumman Plans who were, are, or may have been affected by the conduct set forth in this Complaint, as well as those who will become participants or beneficiaries of either Plan in the future.

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