A federal district judge has remanded the Hale House lawsuit against Augusta-Richmond County to Richmond County Superior Court for trial.
The Federal District Court for the Southern District of Georgia does not have proper jurisdiction to hear the case that deals with a dispute over location of a rehabilitation center for first responders. Judge Randal Hall cited a 2005 case from the Northern District of Georgia where an Albany, Ga. city employee had filed suit against the city. In that case, the Court ruled it did not have jurisdiction, “because it did not present a federal question ‘on the face’ of the petition.”
MORE: Lawsuit Against the City Moves to Federal Court
Hall says the Hale Foundation’s petition also falls outside federal jurisdiction. “The Court lacks original jurisdiction over the federal claims and supplemental jurisdiction over the petition,” he wrote in his decision on the case. “Therefore, the cause is remanded to the Superior Court of Richmond County.”
Hall issued his ruling in the lawsuit on April 19. The case was filed by The Hale Foundation, Inc. against Augusta-Richmond County. The suit also names Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. and Commissioners William Fennoy, Dennis Williams, Mary Davis, Sammie Sias, Bobby Williams, Ben Hasan, Sean Frantom, Brandon Garrett, Marion Williams and John Clarke as defendants.
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The dispute arose in June 2018 when The Hale Foundation asked the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission for a special exemption to establish a rehabilitation center at 3042 Eagle Drive. The location is a former convent. The center would be used as a voluntary, in-patient center for first responders.
The request was denied after complaints from residents living near the area. The Hale Foundation filed an appeal in Richmond County Superior Court, but the City asked the federal court to take the case.
City Administrator Odie McDonald, as well as Commissioners Ben Hasan and Sean Frantom, did not return phone calls or respond to emails seeking their response to the ruling.
Cliff Richards, president and CEO of the Hale Foundation said, “We have a meeting scheduled with our Attorney next week to decide our next step. I will certainly let you know when we decide.”
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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