August 21, 2026
The Eleventh Circuit’s decision to reopen a suit from a former Royal Caribbean worker claiming 401(k) participants lost millions on underperforming target-date funds could make it easier for plaintiffs to get to trial in cases accusing companies of retirement plan investment picks that violate federal benefits law, attorneys said.
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Kai Richter, of counsel at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll LLP, said the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling was the right decision.
“I think what it shows is that the term meaningful benchmark has been maybe misinterpreted,” Richter said.
Richter added that the decision, coming just after the Ninth Circuit’s decision reviving investment challenges against the board of a motion picture industry workers’ pension plan on Aug. 14, “shows that investment underperformance claims are alive and well.”
“I think that the decision is a fairly straightforward one, which is, when you have all of those data points, plus clients leaving the funds, plus subpar ratings, that’s enough to get past summary judgment, and I think that’s the right decision,” Richter said.
Read 11th Circ. Ruling Could Help ERISA Suits Survive Until Trial.