US Labor Department sues Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, company for abandoning 401(k) plan after ceasing operations

Date of Action: Dec. 9, 2016

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant: Authorized Factory Service Inc.

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the U.S. Secretary of Labor filed a complaint alleging:

• Authorized Factory Service Inc. served as the plan sponsor and administrator to the employee benefit plan.
• AFS violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by not taking fiduciary responsibility for the operation and administration of the plan and its assets, and failing to appoint anyone to assume that responsibility. 

Since the company ceased operations and terminated plan participants in 2002, the participants have not been able to obtain a distribution of their retirement plan assets. This is a breach under the terms of the plan, which entitles them to receive a distribution of the non-forfeitable portion of their employer contribution account, the account balance of their 401(k) account, and any other after-tax account balance.

Resolution: The complaint seeks the removal of AFS as the plan fiduciary, and the appointment of an independent fiduciary to administer the plan in order to effectuate the termination of the plan and the distribution of plan assets to all affected participants and beneficiaries. 

Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Docket Number: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­2:16-cv-01836-MPK