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BIO-MEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC., Plaintiff
v.
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DIVISION
OF FACILITY SERVICES, and NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, DIVISION OF FACILITY SERVICES, MEDICAL FACILITIES
PLANNING SECTION, Defendants,
and
TOTAL RENAL CARE OF NORTH CAROLINA, LLC and HEALTH SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT, INC., Defendant-Intervenors
Appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-30(2) from the decision of
a divided panel of the Court of Appeals, 179 N.C. App. ___, 634
S.E.2d 572 (2006), affirming an order entered 16 November 2004 by
Judge Henry W. Hight, Jr. in Superior Court, Wake County,
dismissing plaintiff's complaint and granting summary judgment
for defendants and defendant-intervenors. Heard in the Supreme
Court 13 February 2007.
Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, by K. Edward Greene, for
plaintiff-appellant.
Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by Amy Y. Bason, Assistant
Attorney General, for defendant-appellees.
Poyner & Spruill LLP, by Thomas R. West, Pamela A. Scott,
and Chad W. Essick, for Total Renal Care of North Carolina,
LLC; and Bode, Call & Stroupe, LLP, by S. Todd Hemphill and
Diana E. Ricketts, for Health Systems Management, Inc.,
defendant-intervenor-appellees.
PER CURIAM.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) issued a semi-annual dialysis report indicating a need for
additional dialysis service stations in Wake County. Bio-Medical
Applications of North Carolina, Inc. (Bio-Medical) brought anaction in Wake County Superior Court challenging the data on
which the semi-annual report was based and requesting a
declaratory judgment, as well as preliminary and permanent
injunctions and a writ of mandamus. DHHS and defendant-
intervenors moved for dismissal, and a Superior Court judge
dismissed the action and granted summary judgment in their favor.
Bio-Medical appealed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
While the appeal was pending, DHHS issued a Certificate of Need
to defendant-intervenor Total Renal Care of North Carolina, LLC
(Total Renal Care) to construct ten new dialysis service centers
in Wake County. Bio-Medical contested the Certificate of Need
issuance in an administrative hearing, but the final agency
decision upheld the issuance. Bio-Medical did not appeal the
agency decision. Thereafter, a divided panel of the Court of
Appeals affirmed the trial court's ruling.
Bio-Medical filed an appeal with this Court based on the
Court of Appeals' dissent, as well as a petition for a writ of
supersedeas. DHHS and Total Renal Care filed separate motions to
dismiss Bio-Medical's appeal based on mootness.
After hearing oral arguments and carefully reviewing the
record, the parties' briefs, and all other documents submitted,
the Court concludes that Bio-Medical's claim is moot.
Accordingly, Bio-Medical's appeal is dismissed.
APPEAL DISMISSED AS MOOT.
Justice TIMMONS-GOODSON did not participate in the
consideration or decision of this case.
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