High Watch Recovery Center, Inc. v. Dept. of Public Health

Summary

The court held that the plaintiff's petition to intervene in an already scheduled public hearing constituted a written request for a hearing under the governing certificate-of-need statute. Because the plaintiff was an entity meeting the statutory numerosity requirement and requested hearing-specific procedural rights, the proceeding was a contested case and the agency's final decision was appealable. The court reversed the Appellate Court's judgment and remanded for further proceedings.