St. Louis Shooter Sued ABB, Fidelity Over 401(k) Fees

The 51-year-old man who shot and killed three people, injured another five and then committed suicide in St. Louis last Thursday at an ABB Power manufacturing plant where he had worked was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against ABB and Fidelity over 401(k) fees.

The class-action lawsuit, which includes four other plaintiffs, accuses ABB, Fidelity and Fidelity Management and Research Co. of breaching their fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by charging excessive fees and delivering sub-par returns due to mismanagement by ABB. The technological engineering firm should have negotiated lower fees, and Fidelity should not have directed mutual fund trades to its own trading desk, the suit charges.

Although lawmakers have not yet determined whether the lawsuit incited the homicidal rampage by Timothy Hendron, the lawsuit is scheduled to proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on Tuesday. The court expects the trial to last for four weeks.

Hendron’s law firm, Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, a personal injury specialist, has filed at least 11 other 401(k) excessive fee lawsuits across the nation.