Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca attorneys Charles LaDuca, Michael Lenett, Brendan Thompson, and Charles Barrett, along with co-counsel, have filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of workers and retirees in the Maersk Inc. Savings Plan.
The lawsuit, brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), claims that Maersk Inc., Maersk Agency USA Inc., the Maersk Inc. Pension Committee, Mercer Investments LLC, and John Hancock Trust Company, LLC mismanaged plan assets and violated their fiduciary duties. The complaint alleges that plan managers improperly selected a low-return fixed annuity with John Hancock as an investment option, even though higher-yielding, comparable alternatives were available. Because John Hancock also served as the plan’s trustee, recordkeeper, and investment manager, the complaint alleges the arrangement created serious conflicts of interest that generated high profits for the service provider at the expense of plan participants and their beneficiaries. The complaint also claims that Maersk, its Pension Committee, and its investment advisor failed to intervene to protect the plan.
According to the lawsuit, the alleged unlawful conduct has caused the plan to lose between $10 million and $22 million since 2019 and these losses are continuing to accrue. The fiduciaries are charged with failing to monitor the annuity’s performance and replace the inappropriate investment, allowing conflicted providers to benefit at the expense of plan members, and concealing key details about the investment arrangement.
The case is brought on behalf of more than 6,000 plan participants. Plaintiffs seek to recover losses to the Plan, restore profits improperly gained by service providers, and compel the implementation of prudent investment oversight practices.
The case is Reeves, et al. v. Maersk Inc., et al., filed September 2, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.