2 ERISA Complaints Settled by Ricoh USA for $1.75M
The company was accused of mishandling forfeitures and having excessive plan fees.
Ricoh USA agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle two Employee Retirement Income Security Act complaints: one alleging excessive plan fees and another alleging mishandling of plan forfeitures.
The separate complaints—Batten v. Ricoh USA Inc. et al. and Kruchten et al. v. Ricoh USA Inc. et al.—against the Ricoh USA 401(k) retirement plan were consolidated for the purpose of the settlement, which was reached February 5.
In Kruchten, Ricoh was accused of breaching ERISA by paying excessive recordkeeping fees, which the plan sponsor committee allegedly failed to prudently monitor. Batten, meanwhile, alleged the plan offered an imprudent investment option which it allegedly failed to monitor and alleged further that the plan breached its fiduciary duties by using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions, rather than to pay plan expenses.
In May 2022, three months after Kruchten was initially filed, Ricoh USA moved to dismiss. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania originally granted the motion but allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint.
In December 2022, the plaintiffs then refiled, the defendants again moved to dismiss, and the court granted the motion with prejudice, meaning it could not be refiled.
The plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in May 2023. After briefing and oral argument, the appellate court reversed the dismissal. Discovery then began, with the defendants producing 8,010 pages of documents, according to the settlement proposal. The Batten complaint was added in August 2025, before the parties agreed to settle in November 2025.
Capozzi Adler; Muhic Law LLC; and Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP represented the plaintiffs. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP represented Ricoh USA.
The Ricoh USA Inc. Retirement Savings Plan had approximately $2.2 billion in assets with nearly 17,400 plan participants at the end of 2024, according to its latest Form 5500 filing.
Ricoh USA could not be reached for comment.