Walker County appeals ruling on $8.7 million payment to Erlanger

Hutcheson Medical Center continues to be at the center of legal arguments.
Hutcheson Medical Center continues to be at the center of legal arguments.

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Death of a Hospital

photo Hutcheson Medical Center continues to be at the center of legal arguments.

Walker County is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to make an $8.7 million bill go away.

The county filed an appeal Wednesday, one day after U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy ordered the county to pay Erlanger Health System $8.7 million. In 2011, the county signed an intergovernmental agreement, promising to cover half of a loan from Erlanger to Hutcheson Medical Center.

The county has argued that it should not have to pay the loan because you can't sue a government entity in Georgia under a clause called sovereign immunity. Murphy rejected that argument Tuesday, saying sovereign immunity does not apply to contracts.

The county is challenging Murphy's argument and wants the court of appeals to send the issue to the Georgia Supreme Court.

"We are working diligently to make sure we protect the taxpayers' interest by exhausting their rights on legitimate issues of concern as allowed by the law," a spokesperson for attorney Stuart James said in a news release.

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