In a legal haul that has rumbled through the courts like one of its own 18-wheelers, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. has agreed to a $1.9 million settlement to resolve allegations that it let retirement plan vendors overcharge thousands of workers. The deal, pending judicial approval, comes after nearly a year of heated Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation accusing the trucking giant of failing to control 401(k) plan expenses.
The Allegations: Missed Leverage, Mismanaged Fees
Filed in September 2023 by employee Kerry Carter and former workers David Sealy and Harvey Davis, the class action claimed Old Dominion breached its fiduciary duties by allowing inflated fees for investment management and recordkeeping. The plaintiffs argued that Old Dominion, overseeing a $1.8 billion retirement plan with nearly 27,000 participants as of the end of 2022, failed to negotiate lower rates despite the plan’s substantial size and bargaining power.
Between 2017 and 2023, the plan allegedly hemorrhaged an estimated $32 million — $22 million in excess investment fees and another $10 million in recordkeeping costs — all because, plaintiffs say, Old Dominion didn’t fight for better terms.
“Fiduciaries must negotiate as if their own money was at stake,” the workers said in court filings. “Too often, they don’t — and participants pay the price.”
