Minutes

LEGAL COMMITTEE
October 26, 2011
Present: Committee Members: Polly Clemo, Dr. Ronald Fountain
William Gaskill, John Moss, Charles Spain, Dr.
Joseph Carter, Dr. Alfred Connors
Staff: John Corlett, Marlene Franklin
Dr. Edward Hills, Phyllis Marino, Mark Moran
Thomas Onusko
The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m. by Mr. Spain. The
minutes are written in a format conforming to the printed meeting
agenda for the convenience of correlation, recognizing that some
of the items were discussed out of sequence.
1. The minutes of the August 24, 2011 meeting were approved.
2. Engagement of Sennett Fisher as special counsel for general
and business litigation matters
Mr. Onusko requested approval of the retention of Sennett
Fisher, LLC as special counsel for general and business
litigation matters. He noted that James Sennett served as
our special counsel at the law firm Cowden & Humphrey and
recently formed his own firm. He has extensive trial
experience and is currently handling a litigation matter for
MetroHealth at a very attractive hourly rate.
Upon motion made and seconded, the Committee resolved to
recommend to the Board of Trustees approval of the retention
of Sennett Fisher, LLC as special counsel for general and
business litigation matters.
3. Engagement of Fay Sharpe as special counsel for intellectual
property matters
Mr. Onusko requested approval of the retention of Fay Sharpe
as special counsel for intellectual property matters. He
introduced Joseph Dickinson, MetroHealth’s Privacy and
Security Officer, who has significant intellectual property
experience and who identified intellectual property firms in
the area. Mr. Onusko detailed the requests for proposal and
the selection process.

Upon motion made and seconded, the Committee resolved to
recommend to the Board of Trustees approval of the retention
of Fay Sharpe as special counsel for intellectual property
matters.
Mr. Moss inquired as to how often the Committee should
review the continued retention of a law firm. It was the
consensus of the Committee that the continued extension of a
law firm be reviewed at least once every three years.
4. Government Relations Update – John Corlett
Mr. Corlett noted that Mr. Moran would be presenting
MetroHealth’s budget to the County Council on November 7 and
encouraged Trustees to attend.
Mr. Corlett reported that he is continuing to work with
Neighborhood Progress, Inc. on the West 25 th Street
Redevelopment Project.
Mr. Corlett noted that MetroHealth has received an
“unofficial blessing” of its Medicaid Waiver proposal by the
Governor’s office. The State will have to submit the
application on behalf of MetroHealth. He stated that a
third party administrator will have to be named. Mr. Moran
added that we will have to engage someone to help us on the
analytical side of the benefit package to deal with
eligibility claims.
A motion was unanimously passed by roll call vote to hold an
executive session to consider pending litigation matters and
trade secret matters.
Following the executive session, the meeting reopened.
5. Upon motion made and seconded, the Committee resolved to
recommend to the Board of Trustees the proposed settlement
of Claim No. 10-52-0108.
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There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at
3:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas J. Onusko
Senior Vice President
General Counsel
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