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• Firm Profile
• Management
• Client Types
• Client Recognition
• Special Accomplishments

The First Chesapeake Group, Inc. (FCG), since 1989, has provided litigation support services in cases involving challenges to eighteen hospitals’ property tax-exempt status by local taxing authorities or in visitorial hearings held by the Pennsylvania Orphan’s Court. Dr. Richard F. Tompkins has qualified and testified as an expert witness in tax-exempt status challenges as well as other types of cases involving healthcare providers such as reimbursement litigation, antitrust matters and CON applications. Dr. Tompkins is supported by a staff of consultants and analysts that includes former senior healthcare administrators with an average of more than 25 years’ experience, certified public accountants, and masters-level economists and management consultants.

Although each tax-exempt status challenge involves different hospital-specific issues, FCG provided the following litigation support services for most of the cases listed above:

• Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the hospital’s charitable services and community benefit activities which meet the constitutional and statutory standards for tax-exempt status
• Qualitative and quantitative analysis of claims made by local taxing authorities challenging the hospitals’ tax exempt status
• Analysis of opposing experts’ reports and assistance in the depositions of opposing experts
• Analysis of local, state and national data to investigate trial issues and evaluate strategies
• Participation in strategy development with legal counsel, senior management and the board of trustees and assistance to legal counsel in preparing document requests, interrogatories and deposition questions
• Analysis of billing and collections policies and practices
• Comparative analyses of the characteristics of not-for-profit hospitals versus for-profit hospitals and the standards used in various states to evaluate qualification for tax exemption
• Quantitative and qualitative analyses of critical issues such as executive compensation, physician compensation, hospital-physician joint ventures, related for-profit entities and any merger, acquisition and diversification activities
• Presentation of analytical findings in expert reports, affidavits, exhibits and testimony to the court
• Evaluation of settlement proposals