'A small victory': Federal judge rules to move lawsuit against Piedmont to state court
In a recent ruling, a federal judge remanded a civil suit against University Health Services Inc. and Piedmont Healthcare Inc. to Richmond County Superior Court.
The suit, filed on March 21 by 174 retired employees, claims University Health Services, now part of Piedmont Healthcare, promised employees over 65 years of age lifetime health benefits. But the company is now saying the benefits are no longer guaranteed, according to previous reporting.
On April 19, Piedmont moved the case to U.S. District Court, stating the employees' claims fall into federal jurisdiction. The hospital filed a motion to dismiss nearly a week later.
In a court order issued by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall on Dec. 13, the hospital's motion to dismiss was denied and the case was remanded to Richmond County Superior Court. An affected former employee considers keeping the case with the local court a small win for other former employees involved in the suit.
Robert Taylor, former chief financial officer for University Health Services and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, explained the ruling changes the dynamics of the case.
"Now we get the opportunity to have a local jury involved in the case, which we couldn't have at a federal level," Taylor said.
He added that with more judges in state court, he anticipates the case will be resolved more quickly.
"We're talking about older folks who worked for the hospital for at least 30 years, and are by definition, 65 or older," Taylor said. "Frankly, we're losing some of those people literally every week, so the speed of the process and the resolution is important to us, given the age of our group."
The agreement was initially made in order to keep employee turnover low amidst rising competition with the neighboring Medical College of Georgia.
However, just a few months after University Health Services joined Piedmont in March 2022, retirees were notified the benefits would no longer be funded as of the end of 2023 and are now only being paid voluntarily.
While 174 retirees are listed in the suit, there are more than 250 retirees losing benefits worth about $1,800 annually, per person, according to previous reporting.
The retirees are asking the court to declare University Health Services and Piedmont Healthcare cannot terminate the contract that they have with each former employee and are obligated to pay for the benefits, according to the lawsuit.
"Some would argue this ruling didn't change anything and we are early in the process," Taylor said. "But the ruling was consistent with what we wanted, so you can see that as a small victory."
Initial lawsuit: 'Betrayed is not too strong a word': Dozens of retirees sue University Health, Piedmont
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Federal judge rules to move Piedmont lawsuit to Augusta
