ATLANTA — A suit filed in federal court against Home Depot charges that the hardware giant permitted mismanagement of retirement funds affecting more than 200,000 people and costing their accounts at least $140 million.

The complaint against the $100 billion-a-year, Atlanta-based company was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta by attorneys for Jaime Pizarro and Craig Smith. But the plaintiffs aim for class-action status, which would mean inclusion of every employee and former employee affected.

The key allegations involve investments chosen for $6.5 billion in the Home Depot pool that provides retirement payments to former employees. The plaintiffs argue that those investments have been consistently placed with funds that do not perform well.

The result is a retirement pool that doesn’t grow the way it should, said Charles Field, a San Diego-based partner in the firm of Sanford, Heisler, Sharp. “They see the market is up 40 or 50 percent and they look at their 401(k) and see that it is not up as much or maybe it’s even down and they think: What is going on here?”

Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes limited the official response to a general endorsement of the company’s retirement plans. “We’re proud of the financial support and the opportunity for savings that we provide our associates,” he said.

Atlanta attorney Darren Penn said that class-actions suits can be costly, complex and time-consuming.

In general, he said, defendants start by asking for dismissal of the suit, and if that doesn’t succeed, they will argue that the complaint does not deserve class-action status. If the judge disagrees, the stakes go up dramatically – and, at that point, both sides might consider some kind of settlement, he said.

“This could involve a significant amount of money,” said Penn, whose firm represented plaintiffs in a suit against Home Depot following a data breach.

Field said that the plaintiffs both live in California, but are not making themselves available for interviews.

Over the years, the Home Depot retirement investments were funneled into about 20 funds, most of which brought lower-than-average returns, Field said.

“Somebody makes a bad investment – one year, two years – and you can’t fault them for that.” he said. “But when it is three, four, five or more years, you begin to wonder, what were they thinking?”

The suit also charges Home Depot with paying exorbitant fees to a company called Financial Engines, which was supposed to offer employees investment advice. The guidance given was provided by robotics, the plaintiffs charge.

Brightscope, a financial firm that rates company retirement plans, puts Home Depot below average for its peer group and just behind competitor Lowes.

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