A federal judge has approved a class-action settlement against an Indianapolis hospital and the method it used to collect overdue payments.
Plaintiff Michael Sargent was awarded $2,000 as part of the lawsuit he brought against St. Vincent Hospital in October 2008. Sargent sued St. Vincent, claiming the hospital violated state collection law by using St. Louis-based Outsource Group Inc., which was not licensed as a collection agency in Indiana. The class consisted of 21 parties that responded to the suit.
Sargent’s suit was preceded by a court claim brought by Outsource in August 2008 in Marion County (Indiana) Superior Court in an attempt to collect Sargent’s overdue payment. Outsource filed the suit even though it did not own the account upon which Sargent was indebted and was not a licensed collection agency in Indiana, according to court documents.
The class of plaintiffs represented anyone sued by Outsource for a debt owed to St. Vincent, or any one of its entities, before Oct. 27, 2008, in which a judgment had not been rendered.
Including Sargent’s award, the class received a total of $31,500, of which $25,500 paid attorney's fees.
