State Sen. Joey Garcia announced Tuesday his intentions to sue Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the Department of Health Facilities to block the potential sale of the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center in Marion County. (Photo Courtesy/WV Legislative Photography)

CHARLESTON — As the countdown to the impending sale of West Virginia’s four long-term care facilities moves closer to the proposed closing date of Sept. 30, the threat of a lawsuit could pause the sale of one of those facilities.

State Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, sent letters Tuesday to Gov. Patrick Morrisey and Michael Caruso, the cabinet secretary for the state Department of Health Facilities (DHF), providing a required 30-day notice of his intention to file a lawsuit.

Garcia, acting in a private capacity as an attorney for Mary DeVito, a resident at the John Manchin Sr. Health Care Center in Fairmont, is seeking an injunction against Morrisey and Caruso to prohibit the sale of the facility as part of an impending deal with New York-based Marx Development Group (MDG) and Majestic Care — a long-term care company with facilities in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana – to purchase West Virginia’s four state-owned long-term care facilities.

Garcia said he will also seek a writ of mandamus to require Caruso and DHF to continue to maintain and operate the John Manchin facility per the requirements of the state law that divided the former Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) into three new departments.

“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,” Garcia said.

“Our office has not yet received an intent to sue but we stand behind the legality of the sale,” said Drew Galang, deputy press secretary for Morrisey.

In an Aug. 12 press conference, Morrisey announced that MDG will purchase John Manchin, Hopemont Hospital in Preston County, Jackie Withrow Hospital in Raleigh County, and Lakin Hospital in Mason County for $60 million.

Morrisey said the four long-term care facilities — which have 511 licensed beds — operate at a combined $6 million annual loss, with long-term projected costs expected to rise to nearly $40 million per year. Morrisey said the four facilities are also in need of significant capital investments to update and renovate the facilities at an estimated cost of $100 million.

House Bill 2006, passed in 2023, split DHHR into the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Facilities. As part of that bill, DHF was empowered to sell the facilities under its supervision.

DHF announced in July 2024 it had entered into a contract with Lument Securities LLC to develop a plan that included selling the four long-term care facilities to potential buyers while ensuring care for patients at these facilities remains uninterrupted. Lument first made contact with MDG and Majestic Care last year, though talks between the companies and the state began anew a few months ago.

A bill to sell John Manchin failed in 2021. And members of the Marion County legislative delegation have objected to the sale of John Manchin in the past. Garcia also pointed out that a contract between the state and MDG/Majestic Care has not been released.

A Freedom of Information Act request filed last week seeking these documents and other communications between the Governor’s Office and MDG/Majestic Care is still pending.

“Proposed legislation to privatize the John Manchin facility has repeatedly failed,” Garcia said. “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.”