The lawsuit accused Gerdau Ameristeel of:
- Charging excessive recordkeeping fees to plan participants.
- Failing to offer the lowest-cost share class for the plan’s mutual funds.
- Selecting actively managed funds instead of safer and cheaper passively managed options.
Molla also claimed that in October 2022, he issued a $6 million settlement demand, but Gerdau did not accept the offer.
Legal Proceedings and Settlement Talks
Shortly after Molla filed the lawsuit, the court paused proceedings to allow him to formally present his claims to Gerdau’s retirement plan committee. At the time, Molla expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the process, stating that exhaustion of internal remedies was “likely excusable and/or futile.”
In November 2023, after Gerdau’s committee denied Molla’s claims and appeal, both parties sought to lift the case’s stay. However, Gerdau again moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Molla had not sufficiently demonstrated that he had exhausted administrative remedies before filing the lawsuit.
