Fiduciary Insurer Wins Appeal Over Hospital Pension Defense

A hospital’s fiduciary liability insurer doesn’t have to pay extra toward the cost of defending litigation over the hospital’s pension plan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled (Fed. Ins. Co. v. Singing River Health Sys., 2017 BL 63863, 5th Cir., No. 15-60774, 3/1/17).

In a blow to Mississippi’s Singing River Health System, the Fifth Circuit ruled March 1 that the hospital’s fiduciary liability insurer could deduct defense costs from the $1 million policy limit covering the hospital. Singing River has been dogged by more than 150 lawsuits claiming that it secretly underfunded its pension ...