CHARLESTON – Steel of West Virginia is still challenging Cabell Huntington Hospital’s acquisition of St. Mary’s Medical Center and has filed an appeal in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Steel of West Virginia claims the West Virginia Health Care Authority committed errors of fact and law by granting the cooperative agreement between the hospitals.
Cabell filed a motion to dismiss the petition for appeal on Aug. 2. WVHCA filed a motion to dismiss on Aug. 10.
In its motion to dismiss the petition for appeal, Cabell Huntington argues that Kanawha Circuit Court has no jurisdiction over the case because state law requires Health Care Authority decisions to be appealed in the Office of Judges' Bureau of Employment Programs.
Circuit Judge James Stucky will determine if it is the proper venue. If he decides it is, he will them decide whether to allow the Federal Trade Commission to be an affected party and whether or not to stay Cabell Huntington's $165 million acquisition of St. Mary's until the end of the appeal process.
In 2014, the Pallottine Sisters announced plans to sell the hospital. Cabell began the acquisition then.
In November 2014, a transfer agreement was signed between the two hospitals. The WVHCA approved the hospital’s certificate of need in January and approved the cooperative agreement in June.
Steel of West Virginia has listed six “errors of fact and law” it alleges the WVHCA made when it approved the cooperative agreement.
The case was originally filed on July 22.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 16-AA-56
