Frequently Asked Questions

No, you are not being sued.

Plaintiff filed a class action complaint against Defendants on behalf of the Plan and a class of Plan Participants, alleging certain claims for breach of fiduciary duty and prohibited transactions under the ERISA. A complete description of Plaintiff’s allegations is in the Complaint, which is available here.

Defendants have denied and continue to deny any and all of Plaintiff’s claims and allegations in their entirety. Defendants deny that they are liable to the Plaintiff or the Settlement Class members, and deny that the Plaintiff, Settlement Class members, or the Plan have suffered any harm or damage for which Defendants could or should be held responsible. Defendants assert that at all times their conduct was lawful. Defendants contend that the Plan has been managed, operated, and administered at all relevant times in compliance with ERISA and applicable regulations and in the best interests of the Plan participants.

The Court decided that everyone who fits this description is a Class Member:

“All Participants or Beneficiaries of the Plan, including any Alternate Payee who is entitled to a benefit under the Plan as a result of a QDRO, from January 1, 2018, through the date the Preliminary Approval Order is entered by the Court.”

The “Settlement Class Period” is defined as January 1, 2018, through June 4, 2026.

The Court has not decided in favor of either side in this Action. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. That way, both sides avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and the affected Plan Participants, Beneficiaries, and Alternate Payees will receive a benefit that they would not have otherwise received if the Class Representative had litigated the Action and lost. The Class Representative and her attorneys believe the Settlement is in the best interests of the Class Members and the Plan.

Under the Settlement, Defendants will make available the Gross Settlement Amount of approximately $42,724,532.00 to resolve the claims of the Settlement Class. The Gross Settlement Amount includes the following benefits:

• Defendants shall allocate the total assets held in the Plan’s Forfeiture Account and Special Unallocated Account as of December 31, 2025 (which totaled approximately $21,424,532.72 and are referred to as the Unallocated Plan Assets) to the Plan accounts of the Settlement Class. For purposes of this Settlement, the accounts of former Plan Participants who are in the Settlement Class will be reactivated at Defendants’ expense. Class Counsel has proposed that the funds be allocated according to a Plan of Allocation that is available on this website (Settlement Agreement, Exhibit C) and must be approved by the Court. All Class Members will receive a payment into their Plan accounts. In accordance with the Plan rules, former Plan Participants who had an account reactivated to receive settlement funds, may request a distribution of their account or may be subject to the Plan’s normal process for automatically distributing account balances of $1,000.00 or less. Those individuals, their Beneficiaries, or Alternate Payee, who request a distribution or are subject to an automatic distribution will receive a check from the Recordkeeper, less any required tax withholdings or penalties.
• Defendants will pay for calendar years 2026, 2027, and 2028, (1) the Plan Recordkeeping Expenses; and (2) Plan Administrative Expenses. The value of this benefit to Plan Participants is estimated to be approximately $5,100,000.00 each year ($15,300,000.00 total).
• Defendants will pay a total of $6,000,000.00 to be used to pay any Court-approved Attorneys’ Fees and Costs, Settlement Administration Expenses, and Service Award to the Class Representative. Any funds remaining after the Court-awarded amounts have been paid will be allocated to Class Members according to a Plan of Allocation to be approved by the Court.

All Settlement Class members will fully release the Released Parties from the Released Claims. The Released Parties include Defendants, and each and all of their respective past and present predecessors, successors, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, members, officers, employees, directors, trustees, auditors, consultants, attorneys and insurers, including any of the foregoing who have acted as a fiduciary or provided services to the Plan during the Settlement Class Period, and each person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with them; the Plan and the Plan’s current and past fiduciaries, administrators, plan administrators, recordkeepers, service providers, consultants, attorneys, agents, insurers and parties-in-interest; and Defendants’ independent contractors, representatives, attorneys, administrators, insurers, fiduciaries, accountants, auditors, advisors, consultants, personal representatives, spouses, heirs, executors, administrators, associates, employee benefit plan fiduciaries (with the exception of the Independent Fiduciary), employee benefit plan administrators, service providers to the Plan (including their owners and employees), consultants, subcontractors, and all persons acting under, by, through, or in concert with any of them.

Generally, the release means that Settlement Class members will not have the right to sue the Released Parties for conduct during the Class Period arising out of or relating to the allegations in the Action or the Released Claims. The entire release language is in the Settlement Agreement, which is available here.

Settlement Class members do not have to submit claim forms to receive their allocated share of the Unallocated Plan Assets or Net Cash Fund, which will be distributed automatically in the following manner if the Court approves the Settlement:

The Unallocated Plan Assets and Net Cash Fund will be allocated on a per capita basis to each member of the Settlement Class. This means that each Class Member will receive the same payment amount from the Unallocated Plan Assets and Net Cash Fund. The payment to each Class Member will be calculated by the Settlement Administrator. The Net Cash Fund will then be deposited into the Plan for allocation by the Recordkeeper pursuant to instructions from the Settlement Administrator. The Recordkeeper shall invest each Class Member’s settlement payment in the Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company Target Retirement Income Trust. No taxes will be withheld from these payments when allocated to individual Plan accounts.

In accordance with the Plan rules, former Plan Participants who had an account reactivated to receive settlement funds, may request a distribution of their account or may be subject to the Plan’s normal process for automatically distributing account balances of $1,000.00 or less. Those individuals, their Beneficiaries, or Alternate Payees who request a distribution or are subject to an automatic distribution will receive a check from the Recordkeeper, less any required tax withholdings or penalties.

If your mailing address has changed, please contact the Settlement Administrator by mail or email to provide your current address and ensure your payment is sent there.

Email: 2026providence401ksettlement@noticeadministrator.com

Mailing address:
2026 Providence 401(k) Settlement
P.O. Box 2009
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2009

The Court has appointed lawyers from the law firms of Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, The Sharman Law Firm LLC, and Geist Law Group LLC as Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

If the Court approves the Settlement, you will be bound by it and will receive whatever benefits you are entitled to under its terms. You cannot exclude yourself from the Settlement, but you may notify the Court of your objection to the Settlement (see following FAQ). If the Court approves the Settlement, it will do so under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(1), which does not permit Class Members to opt out of the class.

You can object to the Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. If you object, you must give the reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views. Your objection to the Settlement must be postmarked no later than October 6, 2026, and must be sent to the Court at the address below.

Court
Western District of Washington
700 Stewart Street
Seattle, WA 98101-9906

The objection must be in writing and include the case name, Halter v. Providence Health & Services, et al, Case No: 2:25-cv 00210-JNW (W.D. Wash,), and (a) your name; (b) your address; (c) a statement that you are a Class Member; (d) the specific grounds for the objection (including all arguments, citations, and evidence supporting the objection); (e) all documents or writings that you desire the Court to consider (including copies of any documents relied upon in the objection); (f) your signature; and (g) a notice of intention to participate at the Fairness Hearing (if applicable). If you are represented by counsel, you or your counsel must file your objection through the Court’s CM/ECF system. The Court will consider all properly filed and timely objections from Class Members. If you wish to participate and be heard at the Fairness Hearing in addition to submitting a written objection to the Settlement, you or your attorney must say so in your written objection or file and serve a notice of intent to participate at the Fairness Hearing by October 6, 2026.

A Fairness Hearing has been set for October 20, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. P.S.T. The hearing will be conducted in person before the Honorable Jamal N. Whitehead at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 700 Stewart Street, Seattle, WA 98101-9906. At the hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. The Court will hear any comments, objections, and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including the amount requested by Class Counsel for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs and the Class Representative Service Award. You do not need to attend this hearing. You also do not need to attend to have an objection considered by the Court. (See following FAQ.)

Note: The date, time, and location of the Fairness Hearing are subject to change by Court order, but any changes will be posted on this website.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as any written objection you choose to make is filed and mailed on time and meets the other criteria described in the Settlement Agreement, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but you don’t have to.

If you are a Class Member, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the hearing concerning any part of the proposed Settlement. To do so, you must send a letter or other paper called a “Notice of Intent to Participate” to the Court. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and your signature. Your “Notice of Intent to Participate” must be mailed to the Court at the address listed in the answer to the “How do I object to the Settlement?” FAQ by October 6, 2026.

You may email the Settlement Administrator at 2026providence401ksettlement@noticeadministrator.com, or call at 1-866-930-1550.