Title: Prichard v. Cleveland

State: mississippi

Issuer: Mississippi Supreme Court

Document:

314 So. 2d 729 (1975) D.H. PRICHARD et al., Trustees of the Northeast Mississippi Hospital, and Ralph Smith, Administrator v. Dr. Webster CLEVELAND, Jr., et al. No. 48021. Supreme Court of Mississippi. May 19, 1975. Rehearing Denied July 14, 1975. *730 Thomas D. Keenum, Sr., Booneville, for appellants. Riddick & McCoy, Jackson, for appellees. Before GILLESPIE, ROBERTSON and SUGG, JJ. ROBERTSON, Justice. D.H. Prichard, Jack M. Dubard, Donald Franks, J.W. Henson, Jr., and Douglas Jumper, Members of the Board of Trustees for the Northeast Mississippi Hospital, and Ralph Smith, Administrator of the Hospital, appeal from a decree of the Chancery Court of Prentiss County enjoining them from leasing a part of the hospital facilities (formerly used as nurses' quarters) to Dr. R.M. Brown, a general surgeon engaged in the private practice of medicine. In their amended bill of complaint, Dr. Webster Cleveland, Jr., Dr. Paul C. Ellzey, Dr. S.C. Galloway, and Dr. Joseph L. Hurst, averred that they are private practicing physicians in the City of Booneville, Mississippi, that they own a diagnostic and treatment facility known as The Medical Clinic, which they constructed and equipped with their own private funds and which they maintain and operate with their own private funds. They averred also that they are taxpayers of both the City of Booneville and Prentiss County, and that their taxes go to retire bonds which were issued and sold and the proceeds used "to build, maintain, renovate and enlarge the Northeast Mississippi Hospital and other parts of the Hospital property, specifically the Nurses' Home." They further stated that they brought this suit "in their own behalf and in behalf of all other taxpayers similarly situated who are invited to join this action." They charged that the defendants expended $4,766.82 of public funds in renovating and converting about one-third of the space in the nurses' home to private office facilities which they leased for $300 a month to Dr. R.M. Brown for the private practice of medicine. They further charged that this expenditure was for an object not authorized by law, and that the Board of Trustees and Administrator did not have statutory authority to lease this space to Dr. Brown for the private practice of medicine. Complainants prayed that the defendants be enjoined from leasing to Dr. Brown and "from providing office space of any kind or nature whatsoever for private practicing physicians in the City of Booneville, Prentiss County, Mississippi." The letter of April 21, 1972, from D.H. Prichard, President of the Board of Trustees of Northeast Mississippi Hospital, to the attorney for the complainants is attached as an exhibit to the Amended Bill of Complaint. Among other things, President Prichard wrote: Prichard went on to explain in the letter that the hospital facilities had been greatly expanded over the years, that there was a real shortage of qualified physicians and surgeons in the City of Booneville and Prentiss County because proper office space was not available, that the nurses' home had ceased to be used by the hospital nurses, and that the Board felt that it was their duty and responsibility to do all they could to encourage qualified physicians and surgeons to locate in the City of Booneville and Prentiss County so that the hospital facilities could be used to the fullest extent. Dr. Paul Ellzey testified that when the complainants took in Dr. Galloway he vacated his office space within 150 to 200 yards of the hospital, that the complainants had been paying $225 per month rent for this office space since July 1, 1971, that they had not been able to rent out this space and it was still available for rent. The community hospital is a special creature of the Legislature. Mississippi Code Annotated Section 41-13-15 (Supp. 1974), provides in part: The Northeast Mississippi Hospital is a community hospital jointly owned by Prentiss County and the City of Booneville. It is operated by a five-member Board of Trustees, three of whom are appointed by the Board of Supervisors of Prentiss County, and two of whom are appointed by the municipal authorities of the City of Booneville, all done in strict accord with the provisions of Section 41-13-31. Neither the owners nor the operators of the Northeast Mississippi Hospital had authority, under the law (Section 41-13-15) to expend public funds to convert a portion of the nurses' home to private office facilities for lease to a doctor engaged in the private practice of medicine. The Legislature amended Section 41-13-15 in 1972, 1973 and 1974 to provide that certain specific counties and municipalities within those counties: While we are not called upon in the case at bar to decide the constitutionality *732 of the amendments of Section 41-13-15, we do note that Prentiss County was not one of the counties added. Therefore, Prentiss County does not have authority under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 41-13-15 (Supp. 1974), to convert hospital nurses' quarters into private doctor's offices and to lease these converted facilities to a doctor engaged in private practice. The Board of Trustees and the Administrator of the Hospital thus used public funds for an object not authorized by law. The complainants, as taxpayers, had standing to bring this suit and the chancellor was correct in enjoining the defendants from leasing office space in the converted nurses' quarters to Dr. Brown for the private practice of medicine for his own individual gain. Saxon v. Harvey, 190 So. 2d 901 (Miss. 1966). We can sympathize with the Board of Trustees and the Administrator of the Northeast Mississippi Hospital in their peculiar problem of trying to secure a sufficient number of qualified physicians and surgeons for the Prentiss County area, but the remedy must be provided by the Legislature; it cannot be provided by the Courts. It is the duty and responsibility of the Courts to construe and interpret the law, not to make it. The decree of the Chancery Court is affirmed. Affirmed. This case was considered by a conference of the Judges en banc. All Justices concur except GILLESPIE, C.J., and RODGERS, P.J., who dissent. GILLESPIE, Chief Justice (dissenting): I respectfully dissent. Although it seems to me to be a close question, I concede for the purpose of this dissenting opinion that there was no lawful authority to lease a part of the hospital for a physician's private office. The complainants did not have standing to maintain the suit. The fact that complainants were physicians in competition with Dr. R.M. Brown did not entitle them to maintain the suit. In regard to the contention that this was a taxpayers' suit, this case, in my opinion, is controlled by Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated section 11-45-17 as interpreted by this Court in American Oil Company v. Interstate Wholesale Grocers, 138 Miss. 801, 104 So. 70 (1925), and Mississippi Road Supply Co. v. Hester, 185 Miss. 839, 188 So. 281 (1939). Section 11-45-17 provides in part, "[B]ut suit shall not be brought by the county without the authority of the board of supervisors, except as otherwise provided by law." There is nothing in the record to indicate that complainants had obtained the consent of the board of supervisors to file their bill of complaint. Likewise, complainants failed to cite any statute which authorized them to bring this suit. American Oil Company, supra, is similar to the case at bar. The Board of Supervisors of Marion County had leased real property to the American Oil Company. Interstate Wholesale Grocers filed a bill in the chancery court charging that complainant was a taxpayer of Marion County and seeking a decree cancelling the lease on the grounds that the board lacked authority to enter into such an agreement. The chancellor cancelled the lease, but on appeal, this Court reversed. The opinion cited what is now section 11-45-17 and stated that the sections of the code which now appear as 19-13-37 and 19-3-5 are the only two instances in which a private citizen is authorized to bring suit. The opinion also states: Section 19-3-5 concerns the bond to be executed by a member of the board of supervisors and provides in pertinent part as follows: Section 19-13-37 provides: Neither section is applicable to the case at bar. Complainants did not pray for recovery of any public funds spent in converting the hospital facility into a physician's office. Moreover, not a single member of the board of supervisors was made a party defendant. Complainants only sought to enjoin the leasing of the property. Even if complainants had sought to recover public funds spent in converting the facility for a doctor's office, such expenditure was for an object authorized by law. In accord is Mississippi Road Supply Co. v. Hester, supra, wherein this Court stated: The Court then concluded: In my view the majority opinion cannot be reconciled with either the statutes or case law of this State. If the legislature has deemed it proper to restrict taxpayer suits it is not for this Court to expand them. RODGERS, P.J., joins in this dissent.