WILLIAMSPORT — A federal judge has been asked to approve payment of more than $12 million in legal fees and expenses to the law firm that represented approximately 12,000 central Pennsylvania healthcare workers.
Berger Montague, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, represented the employees of Geisinger and the former Evangelical Community Hospital near Lewisburg.
The suit, which resulted in a $28.5 million settlement, alleged there was a secret agreement between the two healthcare providers, which they denied, not to poach the other’s employees, thus artificially suppressing wages.
The alleged agreement stopped only when the federal government in 2020 filed an antitrust suit to prevent Geisinger from becoming a 30 percent owner of Evangelical, the plaintiffs contended.
That litigation was settled by an agreement that capped Geisinger’s stake in the Lewisburg-area hospital at 7.5 percent.
U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann in November gave preliminary approval to the $28.5 million settlement to the employees’ suit that was reached without conceding liability. A final approval hearing is scheduled on March 16.
Geisinger agreed to pay $19 million and Evangelical $9.5 million to be shared by those employed by them in Union, Snyder, Northumberland, Montour, Lycoming and Columbia counties from Jan. 1, 2014, through Aug. 5, 2020.
Each employee was guaranteed a minimum payment of $250, with the average amount estimated at $1,500.
If Brann approves the requested legal fees, Nichole Leib and Kevin Brokenshire, who were registered nurses then and the lead plaintiffs, would receive $10,000 each for their work in the litigation that lasted more than four years.
Evangelical was an independent hospital at the time, but it became part of York-based WellSpan Health in July 2024. Geisinger has been a member of Risant Health since March 31, 2024, but continues to operate under its own name.
Berger is seeking $9.4 million plus interest or a third of the settlement award. It claims it invested more than 24,000 hours in the case.
The law firm also seeks $2.7 in litigation costs, of which it says $2.3 million was paid to three expert witnesses.