A judge's decision on Monday will allow Boston Children's Hospital to go ahead with its controversial plans to build a new $1 billion clinical tower over the healing Prouty Garden, according to The Boston Globe.
Last month a group of taxpayers trying to save the Prouty Garden sued Boston Children's in Suffolk Superior Court, claiming the hospital had illegally begun construction before receiving approval from the state Department of Public Health. The group, called Friends of Prouty Garden, asked for a court injunction to stop the project.
But Judge Kenneth W. Salinger said in his ruling May 9 that advocates of the garden have so far failed to prove that the hospital is acting illegally and denied the injunction, according to the report.
However, the case remains open and Judge Salinger could reconsider his ruling if the plaintiffs present additional evidence down the line.
Boston Children's, which had asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit altogether, said it was "pleased that the court's decision today will allow this project to continue," according to the report.
Gregor McGregor, a lawyer for Friends of Prouty Garden, said the group now plans to move to the discovery phase of the lawsuit, in which the hospital will be required to produce documents and answer questions under oath. Court proceedings are likely to continue for months.