Cryer v. Franklin Resources, Inc.

Plaintiff brought this class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of herself and all participants in the Franklin Templeton 401(k) Retirement Plan (the “Plan”). Plaintiff alleges that the fiduciaries of the Plan breached fiduciary duties owed to Plan participants by selecting investment options for the Plan that were managed by Franklin Templeton or affiliated companies, and which had higher fees than equivalent funds available in the market. As a result of the fiduciary’s actions, the Plan paid excessive fees to Franklin, reducing the retirement savings of Plan participants. On November 16, 2016, the Court denied the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

Defendant filed both a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint and a Motion for Summary Adjudication, both of which were denied by the Court on January 17, 2017. On July 26, 2017, the Court granted Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification, and certified a Class comprised of all participants in the Plan from July 28, 2010 until the date of judgment. Defendant requested that the Court reconsider the class certification decision, but the Court denied the request on October 4, 2017.

After the motions for summary judgment were denied, and with trial scheduled for early 2019, the Parties negotiated a settlement that was submitted to the Court for approval on February 15, 2019.  The Court preliminarily approved the Settlement on June 3, 2019, and a final approval hearing was held on September 24, 2019 at 2:30pm. The court gave final approval of the settlement.