Court Certifies 30,000-Member Class in ERISA Lawsuit Against Genentech

On September 22, 2022, a District Judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California certified a class of over 30,000 people in a lawsuit against Genentech, Inc., and the U.S. Roche DC Fiduciary Committee (collectively, “Genentech,” the “Company,” or “Defendants”).

The Court defined the Class as “all participants and beneficiaries in the U.S. Roche 401(k) Savings Plan (the “Plan”) at any time on or after October 2, 2014, to the present (the “Class Period”), including any beneficiary of a deceased person who was a participant in the Plan at any time during the Class Period.”

The Plan is a defined contribution 401(k) retirement plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), a federal statute establishing fiduciary standards for plan administrators to ensure, among other things, that all recordkeeping and administrative services (“RK&A services”) offered to employees are prudently selected and monitored.

With assets totaling over $7.6 billion as of 2018, the Plan is in the top 0.1% of all defined contribution plans by size. Importantly, large plans like the Plan have substantial leverage to negotiate for lower RK&A service fees charged to plan participants.

Plaintiff Matthew Wehner filed the Amended Class Action Complaint against Genentech on behalf of the Class on March 1, 2021, alleging that the Company violated ERISA by offering expensive and underperforming investments and by allowing the Plan to pay RK&A service fees significantly higher than the average charged to similarly sized plans.

On June 14, 2021, the Court partially granted and partially denied Genentech’s Motion to Dismiss. Specifically, the Court denied Defendant’s argument that the excessive RK&A service fee claim fails to assert a breach of the duty of prudence, finding Plaintiff’s argument to be plausibly pled.

Plaintiff moved for class certification in September 2022.  Although Genentech did not oppose the motion, the Company will continue to fight the charges.

The Class is represented by Miller Shah LLP and Olivier & Schreiber LLP.

Updates will be posted to this blog as the matter progresses. The case caption for the lawsuit is Matthew Wehner et al v. Genentech Inc. et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-06894-WHO, filed in the Northern District of California.

The legal team at Miller Shah LLP has significant experience representing class action matters. If you have any questions regarding this subject or this post, please contact Elise Wilson (emwilson@millershah.com) or Alec Berin (ajberin@millershah.com). The firm can also be reached toll-free at (866) 540-5505.

Miller Shah LLP is a law firm with offices in California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The firm is an active member of the International Advisory Group (IAG Global), which provides clients access to excellent legal and accounting resources across the globe. For more information about the firm, please visit www.millershah.com.

Leave a Comment

Member IAG Global

Telephone: 866-540-5505 • Fax: 866-300-7367 | Se habla Español

California – Los Angeles Area

19712 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 222
Irvine, CA 92612
Map and Directions

California – San Diego

1230 Columbia Street, Suite 1140
San Diego, CA 92101
Map and Directions

California – San Francisco

456 Montgomery Street, Suite 1900
San Francisco, CA 94104
Map and Directions

Connecticut

65 Main Street
Chester, CT 06412
Map and Directions

Florida

1625 N. Commerce Pkwy, Suite 320
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33326
Map and Directions

New Jersey

2 Hudson Place, Suite 100
Hoboken, NJ 07030
Map and Directions

New York

225 Broadway, Suite 1830
New York, NY 10007
Map and Directions

Pennsylvania

1845 Walnut Street, Suite 806
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Map and Directions

Affiliate Office –  Milan, Italy