A county judge ordered Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Network and its parent company, Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, to pay more than $210,000 in legal fees over a lawsuit the organizations settled last year, according to The Journal Gazette.
Three things to know:
1. Judge Nancy Eshcoff Boyer ordered the health systems to pay $210,650 to cover the legal fees for the individuals and companies subpoenaed to provide testimony in the systems' 2017 lawsuit against Lutheran Health Network's former CEO Brian Bauer.
2. Attorneys for CHS and Lutheran Health Network have asked the Marion County, Ind., magistrate to reconsider the decision because it was made before attorneys and others could file a response. They also argued that Ms. Boyer no longer had jurisdiction over the fees because the lawsuit was settled in a Tennessee court.
"We respectfully disagree with the judge's decision that she has jurisdiction over all fee petitions and are evaluating our options for appeal," a CHS spokesperson said in an email to the Journal Gazette Feb. 28. "It is important to note the trial judge in Indianapolis made the opposite determination regarding this issue in the same case."
3. CHS and Lutheran Health Network settled their lawsuit against Mr. Bauer in November 2018. The lawsuit alleged Mr. Bauer violated aspects of his stock option agreement.
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