CROWN POINT — The city of Hammond's long-shot legal effort to prevent Franciscan Alliance from shuttering its downtown Hammond hospital is over.
According to court records, Lake Superior Judge Bruce Parent recently dismissed the city's lawsuit against the Mishawaka-based Catholic health care system — in accordance with a June 30 directive by a unanimous three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The appellate court said the city lacked legal standing to contest the closing of the former St. Margaret's Hospital, founded in 1898, because the potential impact to the city’s business reputation or public safety costs was an insufficient basis to file suit.
People are also reading…
Likewise, the appellate judges rejected Hammond’s claim that it was acting on behalf of its 80,000 residents who would suffer negative effects from the hospital shutting down.
"The city of Hammond lacks standing to bring this case because any alleged injury is speculative and not directly traceable to Franciscan’s conduct," the court said.
The appeals court previously cleared the way for the hospital to close at the end of 2022 by halting enforcement of a preliminary injunction issued by Parent directing the hospital to remain open for at least the first nine months of this year.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. sought the injunction on behalf of the city. He claimed Franciscan reneged on a promise to maintain an emergency room and eight-bed hospital at its downtown location after Franciscan announced Nov. 3, 2022, it instead would close entirely on Dec. 31 due to its declining patient count and high staffing costs.
The judge's dismissal order firmly closes the book on Hammond using the courts to try to get the hospital reopened.
PHOTOS: Federal Courthouse in Hammond in national pollinator research
A swarm of bees congregate in a European beech tree on the grounds of the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
A pair of beehives are located on the grounds of the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
Beekeeper Ed "Dr. B" Bell tends to the hives at the Federal Courthouse in Hammond. He uses a smoker to calm the bees while inspecting one of the two boxes.
A bee pollinates the bloom of golden privet at the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
A pair of beehives are on the grounds of the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
Ed "Dr. B" Bell prepares his smoker for the beehives at the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
A pair of beehives are on the grounds of the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
A pair of beehives are on the grounds of the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
Beekeeper Ed "Dr. B" Bell tends to the hives at the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
Ed "Dr. B" Bell prepares his smoker on the grounds of the Federal Courthouse in Hammond.
