(a) Any applicant or certificate holder aggrieved by a decision of the department denying an application, refusing to act on an application, or terminating a certificate is entitled to judicial review of the department’s decision by the chancery court of Davidson County, which shall be the only available method of judicial review. The chancery court of Davidson County is granted the jurisdiction to conduct judicial review of the decisions made by the department pursuant to this part, and to render a decision thereon.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-11-1304

  • Department: means the department of health. See Tennessee Code 68-11-1302
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
(b) Proceedings for review are instituted by filing a petition for review in the chancery court of Davidson County within sixty (60) days after the final decision of the department denying an application, refusing to act on an application, or terminating a certificate. Copies of the petition shall be served upon the department and the attorney general and reporter, in accordance with the provisions of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure pertaining to service of process.
(c) The filing of the petition for review does not itself stay enforcement of the department’s decision. The department may grant, or the chancery court of Davidson County may order, a stay upon appropriate terms, but if it is shown to the satisfaction of the chancery court of Davidson County, in a hearing that shall be held within ten (10) days of a request for hearing by either party, that any party or the public at large may suffer injury by reason of the granting of a stay, then no stay shall be granted until a good and sufficient bond, in an amount fixed and approved by the court, shall be given by the petitioner conditioned to indemnify the other persons who might be so injured, and if no bond amount is sufficient, then the stay shall be denied. The chancery court of Davidson County shall not consider a stay unless notice has been given to the attorney general and reporter; nor shall the chancery court of Davidson County consider a stay unless the petitioner has previously sought a stay from the department or demonstrates that the department’s ruling on a stay application cannot be obtained within a reasonable time.
(d) Within forty-five (45) days after service of the petition, or within further time allowed by the court, the department shall transmit to the chancery court of Davidson County the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceeding under review. By stipulation of all the parties, the record may be shortened. A party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to limit the record may be taxed by the court for the additional cost. The court may require or permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record.
(e) The review shall be conducted by the chancery court of Davidson County without a jury and shall be confined to the record. In cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the department, not shown in the record, proof thereon may be taken in the court.
(f) The court may reverse the decision of the department if the court finds that the decision is:

(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory procedures;
(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the department;
(3) Made upon unlawful procedure;
(4) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion; or
(5) Unsupported by evidence that is both substantial and material in the light of the entire record; provided, that in determining the substantiality of evidence, the court shall take into account whatever in the record fairly detracts from its weight, but the court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the department as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact.
(g) The chancery court of Davidson County shall reduce its findings of fact and conclusions of law to writing and make them parts of the record.
(h) A certificate of public advantage granted by the department pursuant to this part shall not constitute a property right or interest of the recipient.
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