In the Documents section at right are links to documents from the class action lawsuit Kaplan vs. Saint Peter's Healthcare System: the original complaint, Saint Peter's motion to dismiss, and the plaintiffs' memorandum in opposition to the motion. Note that the motion and the memorandum are Zip bundles containing multiple PDF files. Note also that in the opposition bundle, the amended versions of Exhibits C and D in the separate files supersede the versions in the file "Memorandum in Opposition." (We tried stripping out the old versions, but this would have resulted in a much larger download.)
The plaintiff's opposition is on multiple fronts which we will not attempt to summarize here (perhaps in a future post). Most interesting, however, is the argument that Saint Peter's claim that the Bishop of Metuchen exercises complete control over SPHS, made under penalty of perjury in accompanying affidavits by SPHS personnel, appears to contradict statements made by Saint Peter's to the IRS (also under penalty of perjury) and Saint Peter's own bylaws. We will convey any new developments about the lawsuit as we get them.
In other news, last week Saint Peter's VP of HR Susan Ballestero sent a letter to plan members regarding the Pension Rights Center's recent memorandum on the IRS ruling, withholding comment citing the active litigation. She also states that Saint Peter's will comply with whatever ruling results from the lawsuit.
The management of Saint Peter's University Hospital is using the church to exempt itself from the Federal safeguards that protect your retirement plan. For an introduction, see Your Pension At Risk.
SCREW THE LAWSUIT, PLAN 001 WAS ENDED, THERE SHOULD BE NEW TRUSTEES ELECTED TO CONTROL THE MONEY NOW. THAT IS WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, CONTROL!
ReplyDeleteI think the pension rights center stuck it up every-ones ass because they promoted writing letters to the IRS, but never once said that the IRS has to even read them or call you in for a disposition.
ReplyDeleteThe PRC recommended the letters to the IRS -- and we did too -- because they were an avenue for comment provided by recent IRS policy for those affected by church plan decisions. This avenue wouldn't even exist if not for the efforts of the PRC after the Hospital Center at Orange debacle, and others. The PRC is a nonprofit, not a government agency; it has the power of the law on its side but no authority to *demand* the IRS do anything. The PRC continues to work on behalf of our interests, though direct contact with Larry Kaplan is a bad idea with the lawsuit ongoing.
DeleteAlso, we'd appreciate everyone keeping the comments civil.
Mr. Kaplan seems to be the only one with any guts and BALLS here on this issue, and may God bless him with winning this!
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Delete(Our previous reply from November 5 was inadvertently deleted -- never try to run Blogger from your iPhone! Here it is again...)
DeleteAs we've said before, we don't recommend that current SPUH employees come forward publicly, since the hospital has the ability to exact retribution. Still, we have seen current employees question SPUH administration figures in town-hall meetings, which takes no small amount of guts. We have seen many retirees including past administrators go public with their experiences; some have contributed supporting affidavits to the ongoing lawsuit. Larry Kaplan has indeed gone far beyond the call in sponsoring the suit. We haven't been in contact since the suit was filed, but it can't be pleasant for him. We applaud his efforts and hope for his sake and ours that there is satisfaction at the end.
LARRY KAPLAN SUCKS, HE NEVER ANSWERS HIS EMAIL!
DeleteIf all of you worms had the guts back in the 80's and 90's to form a UNION at the hospital this would not have even happend. There would have been a contract for the pension funds.
DeleteMaybe next time you vote, if you even do vote, you will pull the right lever! remember when you vote for President Of The USA you also "vote" for Judges and other people in power in the Federal Reserve, Armed Forces, and many other Government employees that are "appointed". Thanks alot to all you Democrats!
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