A federal judge in Minnesota has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Wells Fargo, which alleged the company mismanaged its employee health plan, resulting in inflated prescription drug costs for its employees.
Originally filed in July 2024, the lawsuit accused the bank of breaching its fiduciary duties under ERISA by overpaying for prescription drugs. The plaintiffs cited specific examples, such as the cost of fingolimod, a multiple sclerosis drug, which they claimed was priced at nearly $10,000 for a 90-day supply under the plan, while the same medication could be purchased at retail pharmacies for between $600 and $900.
On March 24, U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino granted Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss the case, saying that the plaintiffs lacked standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to establish a concrete injury directly tied to the company’s alleged conduct. Specifically, the judge said that the plaintiffs’ claims were speculative because they could not prove that the alleged overpayments for prescription drugs caused any actual harm to their personal out-of-pocket expenses.
“Prescription drug costs are high — even for those who are insured, as forcefully set forth in plaintiffs’ complaint,” Judge Provinzino wrote. “Plaintiffs’ frustration is understandable, and this court will not tell them otherwise. But however sympathetic the court may be, it cannot ignore the law.”
Several large employers and insurers have faced lawsuits in recent years from employees over claims of mismanaging health and pharmaceutical benefits and violating their fiduciary duties, with notable examples including Owens & Minor, Kraft Heinz and Johnson & Johnson.
In January, a federal judge partially dismissed the lawsuit against J&J, finding that the alleged injuries (higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs) were either speculative or not redressable by the court.