Supreme court denies hospital writ petition

April 03, 2010

The New Mexico Supreme Court has decided it won’t review the hospital lawsuit, effectively ending litigation that has held up construction of a hospital for more than two and a half years.

The court denied the plaintiffs’ writ of certiorari on Thursday, posting a document on its website showing the denial.

Not hearing the case is often considered the supreme court’s way of affirming previous court decisions.

In February, the New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier district court decision, validating a project management contract that Valencia County signed with a local nonprofit, among other things.

It’s unclear what effect the end of the litigation will have on the construction of a hospital.

One remaining area of contention is whether or not the nonprofit, Valencia Health Commons, has enough time under the terms of its contract with the county to fulfill its obligations under the contract.

Valencia Health Commons needs to find financing to construct the facility, with estimates between $12 and $15 million.

The county is still collecting the mill levy for the hospital, but that money can be used only for operation and maintenance of a hospital.

Posted in: Hospital