Retirement Program for Employees of Town of Fairfield v. NEPC, LLC

**Town Retirement Program vs. Investment Advisor: Federal Court Sends Case Back to State Court** This case involved a retirement program for Town of Fairfield employees that sued their investment advisor, NEPC, LLC, along with accounting firm KPMG. The retirement program claimed NEPC was negligent and breached their duty to properly manage the program's investments, while also alleging KPMG was negligent in their role. NEPC tried to move the case from state court to federal court, arguing that KPMG was improperly added to the lawsuit just to keep it in state court (since NEPC and the retirement program were from different states, which normally allows federal court jurisdiction). However, the federal court disagreed. The court found that the retirement program had legitimate negligence claims against KPMG and wasn't just trying to manipulate which court would hear the case. As a result, the court sent the case back to state court. This matters for workers because it shows that employee retirement programs can pursue legal action against both investment advisors and other professional service providers when they believe their retirement funds were mismanaged. It also demonstrates that courts will protect workers' right to choose the appropriate court system for their claims.