Jay Singleton, MD, an ophthalmologist and owner of Singleton Vision Center in New Bern, North Carolina, is returning to court this week in a lawsuit that claims the state’s CON laws are unconstitutional, North Carolina Health News reported Nov. 17.
Dr. Singleton originally filed a lawsuit in April 2020, alleging that under current law, he can only perform an “incidental” amount of surgeries, as state planners “projected no need” for his services around New Bern.
“In truth, banning Dr. Singleton from offering surgeries to all patients at his clinic serves one purpose only: protecting established providers from competition,” Dr. Singleton’s lawsuit claimed. “That is unconstitutional.” He also argues that the law violates the anti-monopoly clause of the state constitution and grants special advantages to existing healthcare facilities without “giving broad consideration to the public good.”
Dr. Singleton’s case was first dismissed in Wake County Superior Court on June 11, 2021. On Oct. 18, 2024, the state Supreme Court issued an unsigned, unanimous four-page ruling that gave the case “new life” while leaving the question of CON laws’ constitutionality open.
The case now goes back to the Superior Court, where a three-judge panel will weigh the legality of the law.
