Along with co-counsel, Feinberg Jackson Worthman & Wasow LLP is Class counsel in Rozo v. Principal Life Insurance Company. The case concerns Principal’s breaches of fiduciary duty in setting the credited rate paid to participants in the Principal Fixed Income Option (“PFIO”), an investment vehicle sold to retirement plans. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa previously entered summary judgment in Principal’s favor. On February 3, 2020, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Principal acts as an ERISA fiduciary in unilaterally selecting the credited rate. The order can be found here or at 949 F.3d 1071. Coverage of the case can be found here(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5)
On June 22, the district court rejected Defendant Principal’s bid to decertify the class. A copy of the order can be found here. Chief Judge John Jarvey held that the Eighth Circuit’s ruling does not create individualized issues that preclude class treatment: all plans that invest in the PFIO are uniformly impeded from withdrawing their investment, and thus Principal’s unilateral control over the credited rate renders it a fiduciary as to all plans in the PFIO. The case will proceed to trial in November.
For more information about the case, please contact Nina Wasow or Todd Jackson.