Pub. Guardian of Contra Costa Cty. v. K.Y.

319 Cal.Rptr.3d 568

CONSERVATORSHIP OF the Person of K.Y.

Public Guardian of Contra Costa County, Petitioner and Respondent,

v.K.Y., Objector and Appellant.

A166825

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 4.

Filed March 20, 2024

Certified for Partial Publication.^*

Trial Court: Contra Costa County Superior Court, Trial Judge: Honorable Julia Campins (Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. MSP22-00966)

Counsel for Objector and Appellant: Matthew J. Watts, under appointment by the Court of Appeal

Counsel for Petitioner and Respondent: Thomas L. Geiger, County Counsel, Steven P. Rettig, Assistant County Counsel, Patricia Lowe, Deputy County Counsel

GOLDMAN, J.

K.Y. appeals from an order granting the petition of the Public Guardian of Contra Costa County (Public Guardian) to establish a conservatorship for a one-year period under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5000 et seq.) (LPS Act).¹ She challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of the jury’s finding that she is gravely disabled and the court’s order permitting the Public Guardian to make medical decisions on her behalf. She also contends that the trial court erred in admitting at trial hearsay statements contained within psychiatric records. We dismiss the appeal as moot because the order appealed from expired even before briefing was complete and we find that no exception to the mootness doctrine applies. Because it appears that the appeal likely would not have become moot had the parties not obtained several extensions of time in the briefing schedule, we also take the opportunity in the published portion of the opinion to address considerations for the expeditious presentation of appeals in conservatorship and other similar cases that involve an inherent risk of mootness.

Background

On December 9, 2022, following a trial at which a jury found K.Y. to be gravely disabled within the meaning of then section 5008, subdivision (h)(1)(A), the trial court appointed the Public Guardian as conservator of K.Y.’s person, placed her in a board and care facility, and empowered the Public Guardian to make medical decisions on her behalf.²

K.Y. timely filed a notice of appeal on December 13, 2022. Appellate Counsel was appointed on January 24, 2023, and the record on appeal was filed in this court on March 9. K.Y. sought and received three extensions of time for a total 94 days, before filing her opening brief on September 7. After receiving two extensions of time for a total of 28 days, the Public Guardian’s brief was filed on November 30, less than two weeks before the expiration of the conservatorship order. On January 19, 2024, after receiving an additional 30-day extension, K.Y.’s reply brief was filed.

[1] None of the parties’ briefs addressed the possible mootness of the appeal. Accordingly, on February 15, 2024, we requested supplemental briefing on whether the appeal had been rendered moot by the expiration of the order, and if so, whether there is any applicable exception to the mootness doctrine that warrants the court’s exercise of discretion to consider one or more of the issues raised in the opening brief. In response, the Public Guardian asked the court to dismiss the appeal as moot. The Public Guardian advised the court that it had filed a petition to renew the conservatorship in November 2023 and that K.Y. had accepted reappointment of the conservatorship for six months, with a reservation of rights. The current conservatorship is set for review on June 5, 2024.³ K.Y. disagrees that the appeal is moot and argues that even if it is, the court should exercise its discretion to address the merits of the appeal based on the public importance of the issues raised, their likely continuing impact on her and others, and the potential difficulty of resolving such an appeal before the expiration of a one-year conservatorship.

Discussion

[2, 3] An LPS conservatorship appointment or reappointment order lasts for one year only, by operation of law. (§ 5361.) The order under review expired on December 9, 2023. At that point, the appeal became moot. (Conservatorship of J.Y. (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 220, 223, 225, 262 Cal.Rptr.3d 712.) K.Y.’s argument that the appeal "is not moot because ‘collateral consequences remain even after the conservatorship has been terminated’ ’’ is not persuasive under the circumstances here. (See Conservatorship of Jones (1989) 208 Cal. App.3d 292, 298, 256 Cal.Rptr. 415 [identifying legal questions arising from the period of incapacity and potential social stigma as possible collateral consequences remaining after the termination of a conservatorship].) Because K.Y. has accepted reappointment of the conservatorship, there is little likelihood that she will suffer collateral consequences as a result of the finding of grave disability on this specific petition.

[4] As K.Y. notes, we have inherent discretion to resolve an appeal on the merits where "the issues in [the] case are of public interest, will continue to evade review, and are likely to recur, both in general and as to the petitioner specifically." (Baber v. Superior Ct. (1980) 113 Cal. App.3d 955, 959, 170 Cal.Rptr. 353; Conservatorship of Joseph W. (2011) 199 Cal. App.4th 953, 960, 131 Cal.Rptr.3d 896 [exercising discretion to consider moot appeal where "the issue presented … is capable of recurring, but evading review, and involves a matter of general public interest"].) As discussed below, however, none of these reasons apply to the present appeal.

I.-II.^**

III. Appeals in Cases Involving Inherent Risk of Mootness

Dismissal of appeals for mootness is not uncommon in LPS conservatorship cases, as in other cases that involve challenges to one-year civil commitment orders. (See Conservatorship of Eric B. (2022) 12 Cal.5th 1085, 1094 & fn. 2–1096, 293 Cal. Rptr.3d 93, 508 P.3d 1099; People v. McCray (2023) 98 Cal.App.5th 260, 267, 316 Cal.Rptr.3d 566 [appeal of commitment order for offender with mental health disorder].) We recognize that there can be unavoidable delays, such as with appointment of counsel or preparation of the record, that render it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, for the parties to brief, and the court to adjudicate, an appeal before the order expires or a new commitment order is sought and obtained. At the same time, there are doubtless cases in which mootness can be avoided by taking advantage of procedures available for expedition. (See Conservatorship of Forsythe (1987) 192 Cal.App.3d 1406, 1409, 238 Cal.Rptr. 77 [adopting policy to entertain such cases on "expedited appeal"]; McCray, at p. 269 [noting that "no effort was made to seek calendar preference in this appeal due to imminent mootness" and that the appellant "would be well advised to proceed with greater urgency and seek calendar preference" to avoid mootness in a subsequent appeal]; California Rules of Court rule 8.240 [motion for calendar preference].)

[5, 6] In this case, the record was filed and counsel was appointed in a timely manner. Between the parties there were six extensions of time, most sought by K.Y., which extended the briefing schedule by approximately five months. Without this additional time in preparing the briefs, the appeal could likely have been decided before the expiration of the commitment order even without a motion for calendar preference. Our intent here is not to assign blame; we acknowledge that "[f]or a variety of legitimate reasons, counsel may not always be able to prepare briefs or other documents within the time specified in the rules of court" and that "[i]f good cause is shown, the court must extend the time." (Cal. Rules of Court rule 8.63, subd. (a)(3).) Nonetheless, when requesting an extension of time, counsel should be mindful of the expiration date of the conservatorship order and should inform the court of that date so that good cause may be evaluated properly.⁴ (See id., subd. (a) [the good cause requirement is intended to balance the following competing policies: "(1) The time limits prescribed by these rules should generally be...