A trust fund governing the health and welfare benefits for 11 Northeast Pennsylvania school districts has succeeded on appeal in reclaiming more than $6 million a trial judge had awarded toward benefits for two former members of the fund, now that the Commonwealth Court has endorsed the theory the trust was a "pooled" one.
A unanimous en banc panel of the court reversed a Luzerne County trial judge, who decided the Northeast Pennsylvania School Districts (Health) Trust was an aggregate of separate, single-employer health plans in awarding the money back to Dallas School District and Pittston Area School District, both in Luzerne County. The school districts entered the trust with the goal of leveraging group buying power to drive down individual costs, but, after Pittston and Dallas pulled out, the districts argued they were owed money attributable to contributions they made as members. The lower court awarded Pittston about $2.3 million and about $2.9 million to Dallas, plus interest.
