Opinion ID: 1665746
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: conclusion

Text: ¶ 43. This Court must reverse the ruling of the Health Officer and render judgment denying the CON application for the North Campus project. We are not unaware of the fact that MMC elected to build the North Campus facility prior to receiving this Court's ruling on the validity of the project. It must be considered unwise for any litigant to take costly steps in anticipation of a favorable ruling by this Court. In the case of the appeal of a ruling which was reversed once by the Chancellor, and which only narrowly avoided reversal a second time, this action must be considered a risk assumed solely by MMC. The fact that a litigant has taken such costly steps in anticipation of a ruling by this Court should not, of course, affect the course of this Court's deliberations. To do otherwise would be to abdicate our role as highest court of this State. It is our hope that MMC's motivation in building the North Campus project prior to our decision was not to present this Court with a fait accompli which we would be unwilling to disturb. ¶ 44. It is the view of this Court that the North Campus project was not supported by substantial evidence of need, and it is at this point that our inquiry must cease. We must reverse the ruling of the Health Officer and render judgment denying CON approval for the North Campus project. This Court does determine, however, that this matter should be remanded to the Chancellor for an enforcement of the ruling. This Court's ruling does not dictate that operations at the North Campus facility cease immediately. Instead, we direct that the Chancellor be given full discretion to enforce this Court's ruling in a manner consistent with the best interests of MMC's patients and the citizens of Jackson. ¶ 45. REVERSED, RENDERED AND REMANDED. SULLIVAN and PITTMAN, P.JJ., McRAE and SMITH, JJ., CONCUR. JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY BANKS, J. MILLS and WALLER, JJ., NOT PARTICIPATING.