Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers' U.S. Trustee to appoint official tort claimants committee

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, May 2 - Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers' U.S. Trustee was ordered to appoint an official committee of tort claimants following a request by medical malpractice claimants, according to a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Responsibilities of the tort committee will be set following negotiations between the medical center, its official committee of unsecured creditors, the U.S. Trustee and a claimants' representative.

According to the motion, on March 29 the bankruptcy court directed Saint Vincent's U.S. Trustee to quickly determine whether to appoint a tort claimant committee at a hearing to address the treatment of medical malpractice claims.

"Almost a full month has passed since the March 29th hearing, and yet there has been no relief afforded to holders of medical malpractice claims," the claimants said in the motion.

The claimants said "this deadlock during a critical juncture of this proceeding emphasizes the urgent need for the appointment of an official tort claimants' committee in order to adequately represent the interests of medical malpractice claims and to move the process forward."

The motion said there are more than $300 million estimated medical malpractice claims against Saint Vincent, dwarfing the $178 million in non-priority unsecured debt and the nature and interests of the medical malpractice claims are completely different from the claims asserted by the other general unsecured creditors.

The New York metropolitan area health care system filed for bankruptcy on July 5, 2005. Its Chapter 11 case number is 05-14945.

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