Federal Trade Commission v. Phoebe Putney Health System Inc., No. 11-1160; U.S. Supreme Court; opinion by Sotomayor, J.; decided February 19, 2013. On certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Under Georgia’s Hospital Authorities Law, political subdivisions may create special-purpose public entities called hospital authorities to provide "for the operation and maintenance of needed health care facilities in the several counties and municipalities of th[e] state." The law permits authorities to "exercise public and essential governmental functions" and delegates to them numerous general powers, including the ability to acquire and lease hospitals and other public health facilities. Ga. Code Ann. § 31-7-75.
