A federal judge in North Carolina has approved a settlement worth up to $650,000 for employees of Republic Mortgage Insurance Company. The agreement follows a lawsuit filed by a former employee who accused the company of failing to protect workers’ retirement savings from a major financial loss. Senior District Judge Catherine C. Eagles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina gave final approval to the class action settlement in a written opinion and order filed on 2 November 2026. The lawsuit, filed under docket number 1:24-cv-00950, was first brought by lead plaintiff Matt B. Allison on behalf of around 100 members of the company’s profit-sharing retirement plan. Allison claimed that the people managing the plan failed to meet their legal duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). He argued that they did not properly protect employee investments as the company prepared to close its operations.
Allegations centered on guaranteed investment account
The dispute focused on how Republic Mortgage managed a Guaranteed Investment Account option in its employee profit-sharing plan while gradually shutting down its main business operations. According to court filings from the Middle District of North Carolina, the company entered a “run-off period” to close its mortgage insurance business. Allison argued in court documents that company officials should have expected a major adjustment to the market value of the investment account as the shutdown period came to an end. The lawsuit claimed that the people managing the retirement plan made two major mistakes. They failed to remove the investment option from the plan after December 2021 and did not take enough steps to reduce the risk of financial losses for workers. When the market value adjustment took place, it caused losses of around $1.3 million in the retirement accounts of participating employees. Republic Mortgage denied all claims of wrongdoing. Throughout the legal case, the company maintained that it had acted carefully and always put the interests of plan members and beneficiaries first.
Settlement structure and legal fee breakdown
After around a year of legal proceedings and settlement talks with a mediator, both sides reached an agreement. The settlement covers approximately 50 per cent of the total losses calculated across the group of affected workers due to the market value adjustment. Under the terms explained in the judge’s opinion, the total settlement amount of up to $650,000 will be paid directly into the retirement accounts of eligible plan members who did not choose to leave the agreement. In a separate ruling issued along with final approval, Judge Eagles approved $214,450 in legal fees for the lawyers representing the employees. This amount equals one-third of the total settlement fund. The court also approved $25,000 for an independent financial representative, Fiduciary Counselors, and $11,835 in operating costs for the third-party settlement administrator, Atticus. These payments will cover tasks such as sending notices to class members and distributing the settlement money. In her written order, Judge Eagles said the agreement was reached through fair negotiations between both sides with the help of a mediator. She also found that the settlement offered a fair outcome for the plan members when compared with the time, costs, and risks involved in continuing the lawsuit.
Final approval concludes federal court proceedings
The ruling ends the federal court proceedings in Greensboro, North Carolina. The case began when the lawsuit was officially filed in late 2024. Court records show that members of the affected group received official notices explaining their rights to take part in the settlement or ask to be excluded. These notices were sent before a fairness hearing held on 16 October 2026. Only one person chose to opt out of the settlement. The settlement administrator will now calculate each eligible member’s share and distribute the approved payments according to the plan accepted by the court. The agreement will resolve all outstanding claims against the employer without the company admitting that it did anything wrong.
