In Brief: Arbitrator Says Marin General Won Case

Marin General Hospital received a fraction of what it was seeking from Sutter Health to settle a years-long dispute over siphoned revenues. Nevertheless, Marin was declared the “prevailing party” earlier this week by the arbitrator who decided the case earlier this year.

Arbitrator Rebecca Westerfield, a retired judge, ordered Sutter earlier this summer to pay Marin $21.5 million, far less than the $120 million it sought from the Sacramento-based hospital chain. Marin had claimed Sutter had siphoned revenue from the facility during the 25 years it had operated the hospital under a lease agreement. 

Westerfield ruled against Marin’s specific claim about siphoning revenue, but did order Sutter to reimburse the hospital for money it appropriated for its own employee pension plan, the under-recruitment of physicians and other peripheral issues.

With Westerfield’s declaration that Marin prevailed in the litigation, it allows Marin to seek reimbursement for its legal fees, which officials said amounted to “millions of dollars.”