Welcome to the Spartanburg Class Action website

Welcome to the Spartanburg Class Action website. This site provides information concerning a Settlement to a lawsuit brought by Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc. d/b/a Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System ("SRHS" or "Plaintiff") on behalf of all persons and other entities that purchased or rented products from Hill-Rom, Inc., Hill-Rom Company, Inc., or Support Systems International ("SSI") (collectively "Defendants" or "Hill-Rom") during the time period January 1, 1990 through February 2, 2006.

Counsel is pleased to announce that the distribution of benefits to eligible class members took place on July 26, 2007. Class members with an approved claim should receive a check for their pro rata share of the Settlement Fund within 10 days after July 26. The amount class members received was calculated according to the Court approved Plan of Distribution (you can access the Plan of Distribution by clicking on the link on the left hand side of the page). Class members will have 180 days from the issue date on the check to cash or negotiate the check.

If you received a check for a deceased family member, need to request that your check be re-issued, or have additional questions about the distribution, you must submit those requests in writing to the Settlement Administrator.

Please include your full name, address, claim number (if available), daytime telephone with the best time of day to reach you, and a statement explaining the reason for your letter.

For those who received a check for a deceased family member, please be advised you must include a copy of the death certificate and appropriate documentation to support the name in which the check should be re-issued.

Spartanburg Antitrust Class Action Litigation
c/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 9000 #6394
Merrick, NY 11566-9000

Background of the Action

This case was originally filed on June 30, 2003 by SRHS on behalf of itself and a class of similarly situated purchasers in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In its Second Amended Complaint Plaintiff alleged that, beginning in 1990, Hill-Rom engaged in anti-competitive actions in the sale and rental of Hill-Rom products. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that: (1) Hill-Rom engaged in the restraint of trade and violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 3 of the Clayton Act by offering a series of discounts on Hill-Rom standard beds and in-room products that were conditioned on commitments to rent Hill-Rom or SSI specialty bed products; (2) Hill-Rom violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by maintaining Hill-Rom's alleged monopoly in the alleged standard bed market; and (3) Hill-Rom violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act through Hill-Rom's attempt to monopolize the alleged market for specialty beds by using its alleged market power in standard beds and in-room products.

As a result of these alleged practices, Plaintiff claims that members of the Settlement Class paid higher prices for Hill-Rom products than they would have paid in the absence of this conduct. Plaintiff claims that its damages and those of each member of the Settlement Class are measured by an "overcharge," i.e., the amount by which Settlement Class members allegedly overpaid for Hill-Rom products as a result of the Defendants' conduct. Such conduct allegedly reduced competition in the markets for Hill-Rom products, thereby allowing it to charge higher prices than it otherwise could have charged. According to Plaintiff, if Defendants had not engaged in the alleged practices, competitors to Hill-Rom would have had greater success in competing with it, and this competition would have resulted in lower overall market prices and higher quality products.

Hill-Rom vigorously disputes each of Plaintiff's claims and any violation of the law. Hill-Rom asserts that their discounts were a legitimate means of competing and benefited customers by enhancing competition and lowering prices. The Court has not made any determination as to the merits of any of the claims or defenses by the parties to this litigation.

To resolve the claims presented in Spartanburg Regional Health Services District, Inc. v. Hillenbrand Industries, Civil Action No. 7:03-2141-HFF, the parties have entered into a Settlement Agreement which encompasses all claims arising out of the subject matter of this litigation as described below, including without limitation all claims relating to the discounting, marketing, purchase, rental, servicing or warranty of all Hill-Rom products. This Settlement Agreement does not, however, include or affect any claim based on personal injury, product liability, intellectual property rights, or breach of contract or warranty concerning conduct or events unrelated to the Released Claims.