TDF Lawsuit Against Black & Decker Advances

A lawsuit against the Stanley Black & Decker Retirement Account Plan questioning the performance of BlackRock Inc. target-date funds will continue after a judge denied a motion to dismiss last week. Kistler et al v. Stanley Black & Decker Inc. et al. will continue in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

Senior U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill was not convinced by the arguments made by attorneys for Stanley Black & Decker Inc. that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring claims regarding funds in which the named plaintiffs were not investors.

“For the pleading stage, the named plaintiffs have alleged enough facts showing which funds they invested in and supporting the inference that they suffered individualized losses,” Underhill wrote. “Accordingly, the plaintiffs have alleged enough for the pleading stage to establish standing to bring claims regarding funds in which the named plaintiffs did not invest.”

The plaintiffs were successful on most of their arguments against the motion to dismiss, but a claim of self-dealing was dismissed from the lawsuit.

“The plaintiffs allege no facts that support the inference that a fiduciary engaged in ‘self-dealing’ or that a fiduciary ‘deviate[d]’ from their ‘single-minded devotion’ to the plan’s participants and beneficiaries,” wrote Underhill. “The plaintiffs have therefore failed to plead a plausible claim of breach of the fiduciary duty of loyalty.”

The initial complaint, filed in August 2022, accused Stanley Black & Decker of breaching its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and also challenged the plan’s alleged excessive recordkeeping and administrative costs.

The putative class of plaintiffs specifically challenged conduct that occurred between July 29, 2016, through the date of judgment.  

The procedural history includes plaintiffs James Kistler and Lisa Lang—former Stanley Black & Decker employees and participants in the retirement plan—filing an amended complaint and seeking class certification. Underhill has yet to rule on the request for class certification.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys with the law offices of Miller Shah LLP. The defendants are represented by attorneys with the law firms Nixon Peabody LLP and Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP.

Members of the administrative committee of the Stanley Black & Decker Retirement Account Plan were severed from the lawsuit in November 2022, as were 20 unknown defendants in September 2023. BlackRock is not a defendant.

Organizations that submitted amicus briefs in the lawsuit including the ERISA Industry Committee; American Retirement Association; Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets Inc.; and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, according to the docket.

Neither representatives of the attorneys for Stanley Black & Decker nor representatives of the attorneys for the plaintiffs returned requests for comment. Representatives of Stanley Black & Decker did not respond to a request for comment.