Boden v. St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Inc.

Plaintiffs brought this suit on behalf of all participants of the St. Elizabeth Medical Center Employees’ Pension Plan (the “Plan”).  Plaintiffs allege that the Plan was underfunded by over $204 million as of 2012 based on standards applicable to retirement plans covered by the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  Defendants are not entitled to rely on the ERISA exemption for “church plans” because St. Elizabeth Medical Center, which established the Plan and maintains it, is neither a church nor a convocation of churches.  The Complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in March of 2016.  The Court denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the Complaint on April 4, 2018, but on July 25, 2019, the Court granted summary judgment to Defendants on Plaintiff’s ERISA claims and dismissed their state law claims without prejudice.