Diamond Grove Ctr., LLC v. Miss. State Dep't of Health, et al.
| Docket Number: | 2011-SA-01128-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 10-11-2012 Opinion Author: Pierce, J. Holding: Affirmed |
|
| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Certificate of need - Section 41-7-191(4)(a)(iii) - Moratorium Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson and Dickinson, P.JJ., Randolph, Lamar, Kitchens, Chandler and King, JJ. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - STATE BOARDS AND AGENCIES |
|
| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-25-2011 Appealed from: Hinds County Chancery Court Judge: J. Dewayne Thomas Disposition: The Chancery Court upheld the Appellee's grant of a CON. Case Number: G-2011-643 T/1 |
|
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Diamond Grove Center, LLC |
ANDY LOWRY
THOMAS L. KIRKLAND, JR.
ALLISON CARTER SIMPSON |
|
|
| Appellee: | Mississippi State Department of Health and Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC d/b/a River Region Health System | IAN BREVARD COLEMAN KATHRYN RUSSELL GILCHRIST BRANT JAMES RYAN | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
|
| Topic: | Certificate of need - Section 41-7-191(4)(a)(iii) - Moratorium |
| Summary of the Facts: | Vicksburg Healthcare, LLC, doing business as River Region Health System, filed a certificate-of-need application for the purpose of renovating space on River Region’s west campus and adding twenty acute-care beds designated for the inpatient care of adolescent psychiatric patients. The Mississippi Department of Health approved the CON application. Diamond Grove Center, LLC appealed the decision to circuit court which upheld the CON approval. Diamond Grove appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | In 1995, the DOH granted a CON for twenty adolescent psychiatric beds in Warren County to Children’s Hospital of Vicksburg. The CON subsequently became the property of Brentwood, a sister company of Diamond Grove. Because no significant progress had been made in the actual development of the approved beds, the Legislature in 2001 enacted an amendment to section 41-7-191(4)(a)(iii). In 2002, Chancery Court Judge Patricia Wise determined that the 2001 amendment was unconstitutional. This ruling was never appealed. In 2007, the DOH revoked the 1995 CON granted to Brentwood. Brentwood appealed, and the chancery court and the Court of Appeals upheld the DOH’s ruling. River Region thereafter submitted its application for the twenty-bed CON, which the DOH granted. Diamond Grove now argues that the DOH is barred from issuing a CON under section 41-7-191(4)(a)(iii) because of the previously approved, but never acted upon, CON granted to Brentwood. Diamond Grove argues that the Legislature enacted section 41-7-191(4)(a)(iii) to authorize a one-time grant of a CON for Warren County, and it did not intend for the CON grant to “remain valid indefinitely.” When a statute is plain and unambiguous, and conveys a clear and definite meaning, there is no occasion to resort to rules of statutory interpretation. In this case, a plain reading of section 41-7-191(4)(a)(iii) clearly provides that the Legislature intended to allow up to twenty adolescent psychiatric beds in Warren County, despite the moratorium, and the DOH’s interpretation of this statute effectuates that clear purpose. Thus, there was no error in the decisions below. |
Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court
