CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that Thomas Memorial Hospital's petition for judicial review as moot.
In this case, Herbert J. Thomas Memorial Hospital Association Inc., also known as Thomas Memorial Hospital, and THS Physician Partners, appealed a decision made by Kanawha Circuit Court on May 23, 2022, according to a memorandum decision filed Oct. 18 in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
The court had dismissed Thomas's petition for judicial review, which sought to challenge the West Virginia Health Care Authority's determination regarding the proposed acquisition of an existing physician practice by Charleston Area Medical Center.
The HCA had decided that CAMC's proposed acquisition was not subject to certificate of need review, a ruling that Thomas contested.
CAMC had initially requested the HCA's determination that the proposed acquisition did not require a certificate of need review.
Thomas, as an affected party, intervened to oppose CAMC's request, the memorandum decision states.
After HCA ruled in favor of CAMC, Thomas sought review from the Office of Judges, which upheld HCA's decision.
Thomas then filed a petition for judicial review in the circuit court, putting the underlying decisions on hold and while the proceedings were ongoing, CAMC informed the court that it no longer intended to proceed with the proposed acquisition and moved to dismiss Thomas's petition as moot.
Thomas, however, opposed the dismissal and argued that CAMC's decision did not nullify the rulings made by HCA and the OOJ.
The circuit court still granted CAMC's motion, declaring Thomas's petition moot. It did not, however, vacate the decisions of HCA and the OOJ.
Thomas appealed the circuit court's decision, contending that the court should have vacated the decisions made by HCA and the OOJ and Thomas relied on a citation from West Virginia Education Association vs. Consolidated Public Retirement Board, which suggested vacating decisions in moot cases.
However, the appellate court found no merit in the argument and emphasized that legal points are officially stated through syllabus points, not footnotes, and footnotes are not precedential.
The court also noted previous cases where appeals were dismissed as moot without vacating underlying decisions and pointed out.
Additionally, the court pointed out another case in a footnote, U.S. vs. Munsingwear, that Thomas relied upon, noting that it also cited cases where the practice deviated from vacating decisions.
The court concluded that Thomas had failed to demonstrate any error in the circuit court's decision, upholding the dismissal of Thomas's petition as moot without vacating the previous rulings made by HCA and the OOJ.
Thomas filed the petition for judicial review in 2021 in Kanawha Circuit Court. In its response to the request to dismiss the appeal as moot, it argued that the legal issues underlying in the case, are repeatable and likely to arise again.
Thomas contended that any order to dismiss the appeal as moot must also vacate or remand to the lower courts with directions to vacate the rulings of the OOJ and HCA.
Attorneys for the parties declined to comment on the case, citing ongoing litigation.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 22-0473
