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Celebrating a Landmark Legal Victory for 1,100 Retired New York Hospital Workers
AARP Foundation attorneys, staff and St. Clare’s Hospital pensioners gathered in Washington, D.C., to reflect on the $54.2 million win and the importance of the case.
AARP Foundation hosted a fireside chat with VP Louis Lopez and two lead plaintiffs, Mary Hartshorne and Anne Hotaling.
Applause filled the room at AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 16 as the AARP Foundation legal team, staff members and two pensioners came together to mark a decisive courtroom victory: a $54.2 million jury verdict secured in December for more than 1,100 former St. Clare’s Hospital employees whose promised pensions had been denied.
The event marked the culmination of a years-long legal fight. Former St. Clare’s employees Mary Hartshorne and Anne Hotaling, two of the lead plaintiffs in the case, added their personal perspective on the injustice they’d suffered, the unfolding of the case, and how things have changed for them and their fellow retired colleagues.
“This is a legal victory that is extraordinary by any measure,” said Bill Rivera, senior vice president for Litigation at AARP Foundation. Indeed, the National Law Journal recently named the case one of the top 100 verdicts of 2025, underscoring its significance — not just for the pensioners involved, but for retirement security more broadly.
The Case: Fiduciary Duty and Broken Promises
St. Clare’s Hospital, a nonprofit Catholic institution in Schenectady, New York, closed in 2008. For years afterward, former employees continued to receive assurances from the diocese that the pension benefits they had earned through decades of hard work and service remained secure.
Those assurances unraveled in 2018, when 1,124 retirees received notice that their pensions would be sharply reduced or terminated altogether — with just weeks’ warning.
Because the pension plan was classified as a “church plan,” it was exempt from federal ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) protections that ensure promised benefits are properly funded and managed, and that there is transparency in disclosing the state of pensions. AARP Foundation attorneys and co-counsel alleged that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, St. Clare’s and key board members breached fiduciary duties by failing to adequately fund the plan and by misleading workers about its financial health.
After years of litigation — including consolidation with a parallel case brought by the New York attorney general — the matter went to trial in late 2025. On December 12, a jury found all defendants liable and awarded $54.2 million in restitution, concluding that the pensioners’ losses were the direct result of mismanagement and broken commitments.
The Fight: Taking the Case on the Road
The trial itself stretched six weeks — unusually long for a case of this kind — reflecting both the complexity of the legal issues and the scale of harm suffered by the retirees.
“This was an ‘away team’ case,” said Louis Lopez, vice president for Litigation at AARP Foundation. Team members, including AARP Foundation attorneys, paralegals and litigation fellows, spent nearly two months living out of hotels in Schenectady, preparing more than 1,000 exhibits, coordinating fact and expert witness testimony, and standing alongside pensioners each day in the courtroom.
The AARP Foundation legal team for the St. Clare’s case celebrate with Anne, Mary and Senior Vice President for Litigation William Alvarado Rivera (front).
That shared experience forged a strong bond, and what began as simply a professional relationship grew into something even more meaningful. “They became family,” said Mary, describing the months spent alongside AARP Foundation’s legal team. Louis echoed that sentiment, noting that the case was different from the start because of the closeness that developed. “You don’t just represent clients in a case like this,” he said. “You stand with them, day after day — and that changes you.”
The Impact: Justice and Loss
For the pensioners, the verdict brought long-awaited validation — but it could not fully repair the damage inflicted during years without retirement income.
“My pension paid my mortgage,” said Mary, who worked nearly 30 years at St. Clare’s as a radiology technician. When her benefits were cut, she was forced to sell her small lakeside home. “It broke my heart,” she said, breaking down.
Anne, a registered nurse who spent almost three decades at the hospital, received just one month of pension payments before they stopped. She and her husband ultimately sold the home where they had raised their family. “That was stolen from us,” she said.
The losses went even deeper than finances. Raised to trust the church without question, the pensioners described a lasting erosion of faith in an institution they had devoted their careers to, that they believed would always protect them.
“Now that trust is gone,” Mary said. Learn more about Mary's story.
What’s Next
Although the jury’s verdict stands, legal work remains. Defendants filed post-trial motions that have been denied, but appeals are expected. Several defendants are also involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
AARP Foundation attorneys say they are prepared to defend the verdict on appeal and continue working through bankruptcy courts to ensure pensioners receive the compensation awarded to them.
At the gathering, the mood remained unmistakably proud — not because the damage was erased, but because accountability was finally secured.
“Today, we're here to do something we don't always make enough time to do,” said Bill Rivera. “To stop, to reflect and to celebrate.”
But there was something even more profound at work. As Mary put it, speaking of the legal team, “We adopted them as much as they adopted us, and they’re part of our family forever.” Lopez, the lead AARP Foundation attorney, echoed that sentiment. “We value that relationship more than I can say. You motivated us, you nourished us emotionally … and you kept us focused on the end game of winning this trial. And I can honestly say that it was a true privilege and the honor of my lifetime to represent you in this case.”
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Fighting for You in the Courts
AARP Foundation ensures that older adults have a voice and proper representation in the legal system.
Fighting for You in the Courts
AARP Foundation ensures that older adults have a voice and proper representation in the legal system.