W. A. Foote Memorial Hospital, Inc v. City of Jackson Hospital Authority

211 N.W.2d 649, 390 Mich. 193, 1973 Mich. LEXIS 139
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 17, 1973
Docket9 June Term 1973, Docket No. 54,017
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 211 N.W.2d 649 (W. A. Foote Memorial Hospital, Inc v. City of Jackson Hospital Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
W. A. Foote Memorial Hospital, Inc v. City of Jackson Hospital Authority, 211 N.W.2d 649, 390 Mich. 193, 1973 Mich. LEXIS 139 (Mich. 1973).

Opinions

M. S. Coleman, J.

In 1969, the Legislature enacted 1969 PA 38, amended by 1970 PA 142 (effective August 1). This is the Hospital Finance Authority Act, MCLA 331.31 et seq.; MSA 14.1220(1) et seq. The title sets forth the legislation as designed

" * * * to create a state hospital finance authority to lend money to nonprofit hospitals for capital improvements; to provide for the incorporation of local hospital authorities with power to construct, acquire, reconstruct, remodel, improve, add to, enlarge, repair, own, lease and sell hospital facilities; to authorize the authorities to borrow money and issue obligations and to enter into loans, contracts, leases, mortgages and security agreements which may include provisions for the appointment of receivers; to exempt obligations and property of the authorities from taxation; and to provide other rights, powers and duties of the authorities.”

Section 2 states the legislative purpose:

[203]*203"[F]or the benefit of the people of the state and the improvement of their health, welfare and living conditions, it is essential that hospitals within the state be provided with appropriate means to expand, enlarge and establish health care, hospitals and other related facilities; and that it is the purpose of this act to provide a method to enable hospitals in the state to provide the facilities and structures which are sorely needed to accomplish the purposes of this act, all to the public benefit and good, to the extent and manner provided herein.”

The Act is divided into four chapters. The first (§§ 1-3) contains the title, legislative purpose, and definitions.

The second (§§ 11-16) creates and empowers the state Hospital Finance Authority, "a public body and politic of the state” (§ 11).

Chapter 3 authorizes the incorporation of

"a local hospital authority * * * for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, reconstructing, remodeling, improving, adding to, enlarging, repairing, owning and leasing hospital facilities for the use of any hospital within or without the boundaries of the incorporating unit.” (Emphasis added.) (§ 21.)

Section 26 provides that the local authority "is a public body corporate” which may "generally do and suffer to be done all things necessary for and convenient and incident to the carrying out of the purpose of its incorporation.” Section 27 lists some powers of the local authority which include the ability to "enter into lease or lease-purchase agreements with any hospital for the use of the hospital facilities.” Sections 28-32 permit the local authority to borrow money or issue negotiable bonds "[f]or the purpose of defraying the project costs of hospital facilities”. Section 33 states that when all bonds so issued are retired, the authority "may [204]*204convey the title to the hospital facilities to the lessee hospital or organization authorized to operate a hospital in accordance with any agreement executed between the local authority and the lessee hospital.”

Chapter 4 lists obligations, liabilities and characteristics of the authorities not otherwise covered in chapters 2 and 3. The Act closes with the following command:

"This act, being necessary for and to secure the public health, safety, convenience and welfare of the citizens of the state, shall be liberally construed to effect the public purposes hereof.”

This we shall do within constitutional and legal limitations.

FACTS

The present controversy arose when the City of Jackson sought to utilize the provisions of Act 38. W. A. Foote Memorial Hospital, (hereinafter designated as Foote Hospital) is owned by the city and operated pursuant to § 78 of the city charter. Part of the hospital facility makes use of land deeded to the city in 1916 by Ida W. Foote. Daily control of the hospital is exercised by a Board of Hospital Managers. The charter allows one mill of the city property tax to be appropriated for the hospital, although most patients are not city residents. These funds are primarily used to assist in meeting obligations incurred by the issuance in 1958 of general obligation bonds to raise capital needed for expansion and improvement of hospital facilities.

With the inevitable increase in the demand for hospital services and the increased difficulty in raising funds, the city began to investigate means [205]*205whereby additional money could be raised. Despite the best efforts of the city and the hospital managers, the search uncovered no available source of funds. The city is thus without the financial means to remedy overcrowded conditions and to provide needed emergency room, laboratory and other facilities.

When Act 38 was passed, the hospital managers unanimously decided to utilize its provisions to meet the increasingly urgent need for expanded and improved facilities. Negotiations between the managers and the city produced an agreement whereby the city would transfer the property and assets of Foote Hospital to a local hospital authority organized under Act 38. The authority in turn would lease the facilities to W. A. Foote Hospital, Inc., a nonprofit, nonpublic corporation organized specifically for this purpose and eventually would transfer all right, title and interest in the property and assets to the nonprofit corporation.

Under the agreement, the local authority was to assume existing liabilities and debts of the city which resulted from operation of the hospital and from the general obligation bonds. The local authority was to pay $250,000 when the agreement was signed and, 10 years after, pay $25,000 per year for 30 years. The local authority was to relinquish all claims to the one mill appropriation. Subject to the restrictions of Act 38, the local authority was empowered to assign its rights or convey title to the nonprofit corporation which would be leasing and operating the facilities. The managers and the city agreed that this process was best suited to serving and preserving the public health and welfare.

On September 15, 1970 the city commission elected a five member local hospital authority. On [206]*206December 11, 1970 the authority declined to execute and carry out the agreement. This decision resulted from questions raised by interested parties concerning the constitutionality of the act and the proposed transfer.

The city filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in the Jackson County Circuit Court on December 14, 1970 which sought a determination of the act’s constitutionality. It also sought an order compelling the local authority to execute and carry out the agreement.1

In its answer the authority contended that the statute authorizing its creation was unconstitutional. It further alleged the insufficiency of consideration for the transfer and various violations of the state constitution if the transfer were to occur.

Both plaintiffs (August 6, 1971) and defendants (August 16, 1971) moved for a summary judgment claiming there was no genuine issue as to any material fact. The Attorney General intervened on August 12, 1971 opposing the proposed reorganization and transfer. He moved for summary judg[207]*207ment on October 29, 1971. A "Complaint of Intervenor in Quo Warranto” was filed on May 19, 1972.

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Bluebook (online)
211 N.W.2d 649, 390 Mich. 193, 1973 Mich. LEXIS 139, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/w-a-foote-memorial-hospital-inc-v-city-of-jackson-hospital-authority-mich-1973.