A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Jan. 18 filed by a Long Beach, N.Y.-based organization that sought to reopen Long Beach (N.Y.) Medical Center, which was forced to close after superstorm Sandy hit the state in 2012, Newsday reports.
Here are five things to know about the lawsuit.
1. The Beach to Bay Civic Association sued the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2016 after Oceanside, N.Y.-based South Nassau Communities Hospital, the parent company of Long Beach Medical Center, announced its plan to use the entirety of the $170 million in funding it received following the storm to expand its primary hospital in Oceanside and build a standalone emergency room and medical arts pavilion in Long Beach instead of rebuilding the hospital, the report states.
2. Of the $170 million in funding SNCH received, $154 million in funding came from FEMA, according to the report.
3. Judge Denis R. Hurley wrote in his ruling Jan. 18 the civic association does not have the standing to sue FEMA and has no claim on how SNCH uses the FEMA funding.
"It is apparent that the defendant has an element of choice in approving alternate use of project funds. For example, nowhere does the policy state that if a proposed alternate project meets certain criteria that it will be guaranteed to receive the funding," Mr. Hurley wrote, adding, "FEMA is certainly in no position to force New York to reopen the Long Beach Medical Center."
4. SNCH officials previously said replacing Long Beach Medical Center was not financially viable and that the city did not meet the demand to sustain a standalone hospital, the report states.
"We are pleased that the federal court has dismissed the Beach to Bay lawsuit on several grounds, including that they lacked standing to sue and that FEMA acted within its authority when it allocated disaster relief funds to South Nassau following superstorm Sandy," a South Nassau Communities Hospital spokesperson told Newsday.
5. An attorney for the civic association said the organization would review the ruling for a possible appeal.