The Advantage Solutions lawsuit landscape covers three distinct fronts: a 401(k) fee class action that produced a partial $125,000 settlement with investment claims still open, employment cases alleging unpaid overtime and missed breaks, and a fraud dispute in which Advantage itself won a $74.8 million judgment against the sellers of a business it acquired. A separate shareholder investigation into the company’s 2020 SPAC merger has also been announced. Here is where each matter stands.
The 401(k) Fee Class Action
In March 2024, former employee Norma Valenzuela sued Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC, its board, and its 401(k) plan administrative committee in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleged breaches of fiduciary duty under ERISA: excessive recordkeeping and administrative fees, and a failure to monitor the plan’s investment options.1Bloomberg Law. Advantage Solutions Sued by Former Worker Over 401(k) Plan Fees
The plan held about $690 million in assets and covered 11,822 participants as of the end of 2022. Recordkeeping was charged at 0.125% of each participant’s account balance annually, which averaged around $61 per participant between 2018 and 2022. The complaint said comparable plans were paying between $22 and $56. It also singled out the Franklin Growth Fund as an imprudent option that should have been replaced.2Strategic Claims Services. Valenzuela v. Advantage Sales and Marketing LLC, Class Action Complaint
Partial Settlement and What Remains
Advantage moved to dismiss in May 2024. The court granted the motion in part and denied it in part that November, and the board of directors was dismissed as a defendant in January 2025. The parties reached an agreement in principle on the recordkeeping fee claims in June 2025, and a formal settlement was entered that September.3Strategic Claims Services. Valenzuela v. Advantage Settlement Agreement
The partial settlement totals $125,000 and requires Advantage to search for a new 401(k) recordkeeper. It only resolves the excessive-fee claims. The investment-lineup claims — that Advantage failed to monitor plan funds and kept an imprudent option — remain in litigation.4Bloomberg Law. Advantage Solutions Narrows 401(k) Suit With Partial Class Deal Judge André Birotte Jr. granted preliminary approval; final approval had not been confirmed as of early 2026.5Bloomberg Law. Advantage Solutions Gets Nod for Partial 401(k) Suit Settlement
Who Qualifies and the Deadlines
The settlement class covers former participants, beneficiaries, or alternate payees who were in the Advantage 401(k) Savings Plan at any point from March 4, 2018 through October 3, 2025, and whose accounts had a zero balance as of October 3, 2025. Eligible people file a Former Participant Claim Form. The claim deadline is February 2, 2026, and the objection deadline is March 25, 2026.6Strategic Claims Services. Advantage 401(k) Settlement Former Participant Claim Form Distribution will follow resolution of the remaining investment claim, which is subject to an intended appeal.7Strategic Claims Services. Advantage 401(k) Settlement
Wage-and-Hour Cases
Advantage and its subsidiaries have faced multiple employment lawsuits alleging denied overtime, missed breaks, and unreimbursed expenses across their retail and marketing operations.
Foster v. Advantage Sales and Marketing
Wilma Foster, Adam Thimons, and Kimberley Schmidt sued on behalf of more than 360 “customer development managers” who set up and managed in-store marketing for retail clients. They alleged that Advantage misclassified them as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and California law, and denied required meal and rest breaks.8Dardarian, Ho, Kan & Lee. Wilma Foster, et al. v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC
The case settled for $1.2 million, with roughly $750,000 for distribution to class members. Judge Laurel Beeler granted final approval on May 28, 2020, and settlement checks were scheduled for mailing by July 2020.9Bloomberg Law. Advantage Solutions Employees Secure $1.2 Million Wage Deal
McKeown v. SAS Retail Services
Kristine McKeown, a merchandise stocker for SAS Retail Services (an Advantage subsidiary), filed a separate class action naming SAS, Daymon Worldwide Inc., and Advantage Solutions Inc. The suit alleged that SAS underestimated employee travel time and failed to reimburse work-related travel expenses. The case moved from Alameda County Superior Court to the Northern District of California.10Justia. McKeown v. SAS Retail Services, LLC, et al.
In December 2025, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. granted the defendants’ motion to compel arbitration, sending McKeown’s individual claims to arbitration and staying the federal case. The court found two provisions of the arbitration agreement unconscionable, a “bellwether procedures” clause and a waiver of representative claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, but severed those provisions rather than voiding the whole agreement. McKeown retained the right to pursue a representative PAGA claim outside arbitration. A status report was due by April 11, 2026.10Justia. McKeown v. SAS Retail Services, LLC, et al.
Broader Employment Claims
Investigations have also targeted SAS Retail Services and Daymon over allegations that merchandisers were not paid for overtime, received no reimbursement for drive time to worksites, and were denied meal and rest breaks. Daymon reportedly issued new arbitration agreements in 2018 requiring individual arbitration and barring class actions, which has shaped how these disputes proceed.11Class Law Group. SAS Retail Employment Lawsuit
The Take 5 Acquisition Fraud Judgment
In the company’s largest reported dispute, Advantage was the plaintiff, not the defendant. Advantage bought the “Take 5” business from Petruss Media Group (formerly Take 5 Media Group) for a base price of $77 million plus earn-outs under a March 2018 asset purchase agreement. An internal investigation the following year concluded that the sellers had misrepresented the quality and utility of their consumer database and email marketing capabilities.12vLex. Petruss Media Group v. Advantage Sales and Marketing
The dispute went to arbitration under AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules and Delaware law. The arbitrator found that Petruss Media Group and its owners, Alexander Radetich and Richard Gluck, knowingly misrepresented material facts to induce the sale, and held them liable for civil fraud and breach of contract. A modified final award in October 2022 gave Advantage $48,325,822 in damages covering the purchase price differential, due diligence costs, investigation expenses, and lease termination costs.13Jus Mundi. Petruss Media Group v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, Modified Final Award
The sellers moved to vacate the award in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The court denied that motion in August 2023 and confirmed the arbitration award. In November 2023, the court entered final judgment of $74,816,853.37 including interest against Petruss Media Group, Radetich, Gluck, and RJV Marketing Corporation, jointly and severally.14FindLaw. Petruss Media Group v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, Memorandum Opinion
As of mid-2024, Advantage had not collected and was in post-judgment discovery to locate the debtors’ assets, including subpoenas to financial institutions such as Charles Schwab. A magistrate judge allowed the discovery to proceed and denied the debtors’ request for a protective order.14FindLaw. Petruss Media Group v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, Memorandum Opinion
Shareholder Investigation Into the 2020 SPAC Merger
In August 2023, the law firm Robbins LLP announced it was investigating Advantage Solutions’ officers and directors for possible securities law violations and breaches of fiduciary duty. The focus is whether leadership ran a conflicted process during the September 2020 business combination between Advantage Solutions and Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp., the SPAC that took Advantage public. No lawsuit had been filed and no lead plaintiff deadline had been set at the time of the announcement.15BusinessWire. Robbins LLP Is Investigating the Officers and Directors of Advantage Solutions Inc.