PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - A former Hinds County Circuit Court judge will preside over lawsuits filed against Singing River Health System by retirees and employees over their underfunded pension.
The Sun Herald reports (https://bit.ly/1H2y6cx ) the Mississippi Supreme Court appointed former Judge L. Breland Hilburn, who has served as a special judge on many cases since he retired in 2002 after 30 years on the bench.
At least eight lawsuits over the underfunded SRHS pension plan are pending in Jackson County Chancery Court. Jackson County chancellors recused themselves from the cases, with the exception of Judge Neil Harris. The Supreme Court recently requested that Harris recuse himself.
Dozens of health system retirees and employees have been voicing their concerns, since it was revealed last year that the health system had stopped contributing its portion to their retirement plan after 2009. Now, it’s under-funded.
The Jackson County Board of Supervisors has hired an attorney to help oversee their hospital investigation. They hope to have an option or solutions to help fully fund the pension plan for retirees and employees in the next two months.
In March, Singing River asked for Harris to be removed from the cases.
The health system argued that Harris could appear biased due to a lawsuit the judge had pending against Ocean Springs and Jackson County and a number of “adverse” relationships with Singing River’s lawyers, among other reasons.
The Supreme Court decided that then those reasons were considered as a whole, “a reasonable person knowing all of the circumstances might question Chancellor Harris’s impartiality.”
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Information from: The Sun Herald, https://www.sunherald.com
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