Dougherty County withdraws lawsuit against Community Health

ATLANTA — The Dougherty County Commission late Monday was granted a voluntary dismissal from a lawsuit filed earlier against the Georgia Department of Community Health in regard to the granting of a certificate of need for the new Lee County Medical Center.

The petition, filed by Atlanta attorney Rob Rozier in Fulton Superior Court, simply read:

“Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-41(a)(1)(A), Petitioner Dougherty County, Georgia files this voluntary dismissal without prejudice of its claims against all Respondents in the above-styled action.

“The Dougherty County Commission has authorized the dismissal of litigation with the Georgia Department of Community Health. The litigation sought a legal determination as to whether or not the Department of Community Health properly applied its regulations when it granted a certificate of need to the private for-profit company known as LCMC OPCO LLC. An independent study obtained by Dougherty County indicated that the medical center would have an adverse impact on Dougherty County’s jobs, taxes, and health care delivery system,” County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said. “The suit additionally claimed that the project was not properly financed under Georgia law. The dismissal of the suit follows a Fulton Superior Court Judge’s denial of Dougherty County’s request for an injunction.”

Cohilas said while the county was disappointed in the outcome, he also recognized the need to move on.

“The Commission has done its best to protect Dougherty County’s jobs and taxpayers. While we are disappointed that the court’s initial ruling did not address the negative impact that this will have on our people, we are thankful to the court for providing this decision quickly, “Cohilas said.” Though we could continue to litigate this matter for years to come, our efforts are better focused on building our community and investing in our infrastructure. We certainly wish Lee County and its citizens the best of luck and will continue to work with their leadership on regional economic development opportunities.”

This story is developing.