A Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that Prince George’s County doesn’t have to pay the operator of its hospital system $12 million for fiscal 2008 but has two weeks to pay $2 million it pledged for FY 07.

“I’d say that we are disappointed in as [far] as we understand the decision,” said Dunlop Ecker, chief executive officer of Dimensions Healthcare System, which runs Prince George’s County Hospital system.

Although Judge Dwight D. Jackson issued a temporary injunction requiring the county to pay Dimensions $2 million, a hearing on whether the injunction should become permanent is scheduled to begin Sept. 10.

Jackson determined there was no contract binding the county to make any payments, but said Dimensions could have reasonably believed would get the $2 million.

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The $2 million was part of a $9 million emergency appropriation for fiscal 2007. Prince George’s paid $7 million before telling Dimensions’ board of directors in June that there would be no more money until four board members resigned. One board member, Donald Foran, resigned effective Thursday.

In withholding part of the $14 million it pledged to keep the hospital system open through June 2008, the county is attempting to enforce conditions associated with $5 million it gave Dimensions in February. One condition was reconstitution of the board.

After filing for a pension-waiver modification from the Internal Revenue Service earlier this month, Dimensions had said it could operate until early September without additional funding.

On Thursday, Dimensions spokeswoman Suzanne Almalel said the $2 million from the county plus $12 million from the potential pension-waiver modification would

enable the hospital system to operate until at least January 2008 when the state legislative session begins.

Almalel said Dimension hopes legislation to save the hospital system would be taken up at that point.

dfowler@dcexaminer.com