A group of Liberty Township landowners is appealing a court decision that dismissed its challenge of a rezoning for the construction of a new Porter hospital at the northwest corner of Ind. 49 and U.S. 6.

Attorney James Sarkisian, acting as judge pro tem for Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper, ruled early last month the Liberty Landowners Association Inc. lacks standing to bring a lawsuit because it owns no real estate near the site and won't suffer if a hospital is built there.

Association attorney Martin Lucas said he will argue the landowners association has public standing because of the public interest involved.

In making that case, Lucas said he will argue the rezoning was granted in violation of the county's unified development ordinance, which prohibits institutions from being built alongside residential areas.

Lucas also will argue the hospital received special treatment from the county that would not have been granted to an average citizen.

Porter County attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger said the county will aggressively fight the appeal.

While she felt the ruling in question was pretty clear cut, she said the appeal could create a needless delay in the construction of a new hospital. If the landowners win their appeal, their case would go back to the local courts, where the group would get the chance to argue its original complaint.

When Tennessee-based Community Health Systems purchased the county hospital in May 2007, it agreed as part of the deal to build a 225-room hospital within four years.

A hospital representative could not be reached Tuesday for comment, but Rinkenberger said she would urge the hospital not to allow the appeal to delay the construction project on the 105-acre site in question.

It then would be up to the landowners association to seek a restraining order to stop the work, which would require the ability to post a bond and a stronger case than she believes the group is offering.

"I'm thinking, 'If I'm the hospital, it's time to get aggressive with this,' " Rinkenberger said. "It would support them."

Lucas said his clients don't have the resources or interest to stop any construction work that may begin. The group is not against the hospital, he said.

The issue here is that the county BZA should have followed the rules, he said.