Johnston Ambulatory Surgical Associates, Ltd. v. Patricia Nolan

Summary

The Supreme Court denied and dismissed both certiorari petitions and quashed the writs. It held that the Department of Health director was not required to defer specially to the Health Services Council's advisory recommendation, but that the department could not approve a substantially identical second certificate-of-need application without findings identifying materially changed circumstances since the first denial. Justice Flanders, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have rejected administrative finality in this health-care setting or remanded for the department to determine whether circumstances had changed.