Published
October 7, 2024
Updated
August 1, 2026
The St. Croix Regional Medical Center settlement claim period is closed. Its January 31, 2025 fairness hearing has passed, but the official public site still does not post a final approval order, judgment, or distribution notice.
Current Status
The November 18, 2024 claim and exclusion deadline has passed. The court-authorized site continues to describe final approval as a future condition even though the scheduled January 31, 2025 hearing is over. No final order or payment notice appears on the public documents made available there. A hearing date alone does not establish approval, so this page reports a stale public update rather than assuming that payments were authorized or issued.StatusHearing Passed; No Public Final Order Posted
Claim DeadlineNovember 18, 2024 — Passed
Maximum Settlement$225,000
Potential BenefitUp to 1.5× Allegedly Excessive Fees, Pro Rata
What Was the Medical Billing Lawsuit About?
The lawsuit alleged that St. Croix Regional Medical Center charged more than Wisconsin law allowed when patients or people authorized by patients requested healthcare billing records. The challenged amounts included request, basic, retrieval, certification, and similar fees. The complaint sought reimbursement and additional relief under Wisconsin law. The medical center disputed liability and damages, including whether any conduct was willful or negligent. The proposed settlement was a compromise and did not establish that every records charge violated the statute.Who Was Included?
The settlement class generally covered a patient, or a person authorized in writing by a patient, who requested the patient's healthcare records from the medical center and directly or indirectly paid one of the disputed fees during the six years before the action began. The formal notice contained exclusions for specified entities, government bodies, court personnel, counsel, unpaid charges, and people who had already recovered the same fee through certain other litigation. Eligibility depended on the administrator's records and the precise settlement definition.Patient and Requestor Claims
The settlement distinguished the patient from a requestor—often a person or business obtaining records for the patient. A patient could indirectly bear the fee when the requestor passed it through. A requestor seeking payment had to certify that the fee had not been reimbursed or passed along and that no recovery right was assigned. If the requestor could not make the required showing, the structure generally favored payment to the patient. Those rules were designed to prevent two recoveries for the same disputed charge.What Benefit Was Proposed?
St. Croix agreed to pay qualifying class members up to one and one-half times the allegedly excessive fee, subject to a maximum settlement amount of $225,000 and pro rata adjustment. The maximum also included amounts deducted or paid under the agreement, so no claimant was guaranteed 1.5 times the fee. The medical center separately agreed to administration costs, while the notice described a request for attorneys' fees that required court approval.What Was Required to Claim?
During the filing period, a claimant used the official form and supplied the identifying and certification information required for the patient or requestor category. A notice identifier could help connect the submission with the administrator's records. The claim deadline was November 18, 2024, while settlement objections used an earlier date. Both are historical. An old online page or search result does not reopen the settlement.Why the Current Status Is Cautious
The official FAQ says payments would issue only after final approval, the end of any appeal, and the administrator's review and audit. The public homepage still uses that conditional language and lists the January 31, 2025 hearing. Because the site does not show the result, the page cannot responsibly say the settlement was finally approved or that checks went out. Former claimants should monitor the official medical billing settlement site for an order or distribution notice.Official Information
Review the latest information on the official St. Croix medical billing settlement website.
Case
Stadler v. St. Croix Regional Medical Center, Inc.
Case Number
2019 CV 333
Court
Wisconsin Circuit Court, Polk County
Status
Public final-approval update not posted
Maximum Settlement
$225,000
Claim Deadline
November 18, 2024
Scheduled Hearing
January 31, 2025
Official Website
official St. Croix medical billing settlement
For more class actions, recalls, and refunds, keep scrolling below.
