« Courts - More on "Mistrial declared in Notre Dame coach's malpractice case" | Main | Ind. Decisions - 7th Circuit issues one Indiana decision today »

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Ind. Decisions - "Deal with closed developmental center broke law; damages, if any, undecided"

Reporting on yesterday's Court of Appeals decision in Anita Stuller, et al v. Mitchell Daniels, Jr., et al (see ILB entry here), Niki Kelly of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette writes:

The Family and Social Services Administration broke state law when it granted a no-bid $95 million contract to Liberty Healthcare Corporation to operate the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

But the victory could be merely symbolic because the center closed in April after moving hundreds of residents to other state hospitals or apartments and group homes.

And the Liberty contract officially ends this month.

“We’re not reopening it, so it appears to us this has no practical impact,” said FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob, who has not decided whether to appeal the decision to the Indiana Supreme Court.

More from the story:
AFSCME and Stuller claimed the state should have used a specific public-private agreement statute that requires the state to request proposals for all operator agreements, which are “between an operator and the governmental body for the operation, maintenance, repair, or management of a public facility.”

The Court of Appeals found that the contract between the state and Liberty was indeed an operating agreement, and therefore required the use of the specific public-private agreement statute for bidding purposes.

“Even though the FSSA claims that it contracted with Liberty to provide a transitional phase from the center to community-based living, we find that the agreement’s provisions first and foremost provide for the continued operation of the facility,” the ruling said.

“We agree with appellants that the transitioning of the residents to alternative community placement is merely one of the operational goals ultimately aspired to under the contract.”

The court also found that Stuller and AFSCME met the requirements to have been granted a preliminary injunction and that Boyer erred in denying that request.

But while the ruling was a win on all sides for the plaintiffs, the appellate court seemed to acknowledge its limited application.

“We first request the trial court to conduct a status hearing and then order the trial court to establish an appropriate remedy in line with this court’s holding. Accordingly, we authorize the trial court to take all necessary means to effectuate today’s holding in a manner that recognizes the practical difficulties of managing an ongoing facility while at the same time ensuring the care and safety of the patients.”

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 17, 2007 09:37 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions