A Missouri federal district court judge dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit by a former partner at Husch Blackwell LLP alleging mismanagement and the illegal withholding of contributions to the firm’s 401(k) plan. The judge based his ruling on the plaintiff’s inability to show that year-end profit-sharing contributions were plan assets before the firm deposited them into his plan account, which left him unable to prove any violations of federal benefits law. The case is Paetkau v. Husch Blackwell LLP et al., Case Number 4:25-cv-00721, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
According to former Husch Blackwell partner Paetkau, the year-end profit-sharing contributions were participant contributions for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Husch Blackwell, by contrast, argued the contributions were employer contributions. The contributions at issue come from each partner’s distributed compensation.
Paetkau initially sued Husch Blackwell just after his termination in August 2025. He accused the firm of delaying employer contributions to its 401(k) plan and diverting the money for operating expenses. He pointed out that ERISA bars fiduciaries from using retirement plan funds for operating expenses.
However, the judge agreed with Husch Blackwell that retirement plan contributions become 401(k) plan assets only after the employer deposits them into the 401(k) plan. The mere deduction of the year-end profit-sharing contributions from Paetkau’s paycheck did not transform them into plan assets. In so ruling, the judge distinguished between employee wages and partners’ periodic draws from the firm’s income.
The judge ruled on Husch Blackwell’s motion for summary judgment despite Paetkau’s objections that discovery had hardly begun. The judge said Paetkau needed no further discovery to respond to the motion, so he found no reason to delay his ruling on discovery grounds.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]