FAIRMONT – A resident of one of the state-run facilities being sold plans to sue Gov. Patrick Morrisey and a cabinet secretary over the pending sale to a private healthcare company.
In separate letters last week to Morrisey and Department of Health Facilities Secretary Michael Caruso, Mary DeVito alleges Morrisey doesn’t have the statutory authority to sell the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center in Fairmont – or any of the other three facilities – to Marx Development Company.
Garcia
“There is no statutory authority for Governor Morrisey or Secretary Caruso to abdicate their administrative responsibilities to the patients of the John Manchin Sr. nursing home and other state-run facilities by selling them to Marx Development Group or any other private corporation,” said Joey Garcia, DeVito’s attorney and a Democratic state senator. “Proposed legislation to privatize the John Manchin facility has repeatedly failed.
“Furthermore, the Governor’s Office has failed to make public the written agreement to sell these facilities, and my client and other residents have many concerns but very little information other than a potential sales deadline of Sept. 30, 2025. The only way to protect the residents of John Manchin Sr. now is to fight this in court.”
While sending the required 30-day notices of intent to sue, Garcia also says he doesn’t believe it’s necessary because Morrisey announced the plan to finalize the sale by September 30. The 30-day window would give a judge just a few days to consider the case for a possible injunction before the sale.
Garcia said he also plans to seek a writ of mandamus to require state officials to manage, direct, control, govern and operate the Manchin facility per state code following the recent Department of Health and Human Resources reorganization bill.
On August 12, Morrisey said the state had reached a deal with New York-based Marx Development Company to buy four long-term care facilities for $60 million. The other facilities are Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta, Jackie Withrow Hospital in Beckley and Lakin Hospital in West Columbia.
