Important Notice from SF – Sep. 24, 2020

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL VESTED PARTICIPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES OF THE SINGING RIVER HEALTH SYSTEM EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT PLAN AND TRUST (the “Plan“)


On October 27, 2017, Interim Special Fiduciary for the SRHS Employees’ Retirement Plan and Trust, Josh Eldridge, filed Cause No. 2017-087-SR in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, against KPMG and Transamerica, setting out causes of action for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation. All counts relate to these defendants’ alleged role in causing damages to the Plan and its members.

Pursuant to an Order entered on September 14, 2020, by the Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, Special Chancellor James D. Bell Presiding, please take notice that with the Court’s permission given to me in that Order, I intend to dismiss this lawsuit on behalf of the Plan against KPMG and Transamerica pending in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi.

The reason for this action on my part is that the Plan cannot afford to pay the legal costs of continuing to pursue this litigation. The Court agreed with this. However, individual Plan participants may still wish to pursue such claims.

As directed by the Court, I will first seek a stay (a hold) on my lawsuit for a period of up to six months. This time is intended to give all participants time to file their own lawsuits against KPMG and Transamerica and to pursue these claims if they choose to.

In that time, if you wish to file your own lawsuit against KPMG and Transamerica, it is important that you promptly hire a lawyer to represent you. The Court noted in its Order that W. Harvey Barton of the Barton Law Firm in Pascagoula and the firm of Reeves and Mestayer in Biloxi appear to be willing to represent Plan members on a contingency basis. A “contingency basis” means that a firm will take the cases of individual Plan participants such as yourself and advance the costs and expenses of the lawsuit instead of those costs and expenses coming out of your pocket (or from the Plan). The firms will then be reimbursed for their costs and expenses only if they are successful and obtain a recovery from KPMG and Transamerica.

The statute of limitations (the deadline) for filing such lawsuits will expire very soon. Therefore, you must act quickly to preserve your rights.

You can view the Court order and additional information regarding the Plan and this notice on the Plan’s website at www.singingriverretirement.com.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I can be reached via e-mail at Traci@mcgkc.com or by phone at 816-455-9030.

Traci Miller Christian
Special Fiduciary
Singing River Health System Employees’ Retirement Plan and Trust