CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the judge had made a ruling in the case. What was filed was a proposed order by the NAACP that the judge has not yet signed.
A proposed order sent to a Tallahassee judge would deny the City of Tallahassee’s and Florida State University’s motions to dismiss the Tallahassee NAACP’s lawsuit challenging the sale of the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare hospital to the university.
The proposed language, provided to Circuit Judge Lee Marsh by the NAACP, would say that the NAACP has raised legal questions that are substantial enough to keep the lawsuit in play at this stage in the case.
“Given the governing motion-to-dismiss standard and the allegations summarized above, dismissal is not warranted on the statutory, capacity to sue, or standing grounds asserted by defendants,” the proposed order says.
The filing comes a month after the judge asked each party to provide supplemental information that would help him determine whether the case should survive. He also specifically asked for information that supports why the Tallahassee Branch of the NAACP has standing to sue, as attorneys for FSU and the city contend it’s not registered as a legal entity with the state.
The NAACP responded, saying the city’s and university’s challenge to their capacity to sue is “premature at this stage of the case,” and the organization doubled down on its argument that a Florida law controlling transfers of municipal hospitals applies to the sale and that the court’s intervention was needed to determine this.
The city argued that the NAACP “sued to stop a sale that already occurred” just to create a fund for indigent care that “would be worse for the public than the existing” policy in the two parties’ current agreement.
Attorneys for the city continue to stand by their analysis that the state law does not apply to the sale.
“Plaintiffs can point to no injury, given their admission of the continuation of the Charity Care Policy,” the city’s brief says. “And nothing in section 155.40 (of the state statute) suggests it would apply to intra-governmental transfers, and had the Legislature intended as much, it would have said so.”
Jack McLean, the attorney representing the NAACP asserts “that the proposed hospital transfer presents a current legal controversy affecting public accountability, statutory compliance and the community’s interest in the future of a public hospital.”
Or, “these allegations and statutory contentions are sufficient to preclude dismissal at this stage,” as the proposed order says.
Because of recent judicial reassignments, Marsh now presides over criminal cases; Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom will take over Marsh’s civil caseload, including the NAACP suit.
Background on the sale
The FSU Health enterprise and academic medical center is designed to “bring researchers, educators, and clinical partners under one umbrella to transform health and healthcare in Florida” from a flagship academic medical center at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
Under terms of the sale, the university will pay the city $109 million for their hospital land and assets over a 30-year period, while FSU will invest $100 million in existing hospital facilities and another $150 million on the newly branded FSU Health. The university also has “aspirational plans” to invest $1.7 billion in healthcare improvements, contingent upon legislative appropriations and state and federal grants.
The new academic medical center, patterned off of the UF Health enterprise, offers bold promises to patients seeking better healthcare and could create a new economic engine in Florida’s capital city. But it came together under a cloud of controversy and a 3-2 City Commission vote in March after hospital officials initially accused city leaders and FSU of holding secret meetings to engineer a hostile takeover of the hospital.
Officials are now looking to turn the page as they promote a partnership they say could elevate healthcare in the region and ultimately give patients more options without having to travel hundreds of miles to see specialists.
(This is a developing news story. Check back for updates).
Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: NAACP wants judge to end city of Tallahassee, FSU push to dismiss TMH lawsuit