Conservatorship of A.B. CA1/4

Filed 1/21/22 Conservatorship of A.B. CA1/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

Conservatorship of the Person of A.B.

PUBLIC GUARDIAN OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Petitioner and Respondent, A161129 v. (Contra Costa County A.B., Super. Ct. No. P20-00666) Respondent and Appellant.

A.B. appeals an order, entered in October 2020, finding him gravely disabled and appointing respondent Public Guardian of Contra Costa County (the public guardian) conservator of his person for a period of one year. He contends the trial court’s improper continuances resulted in a 67-day delay of the trial on the petition for conservatorship which should be credited against his one-year commitment. He also challenges the admission of case specific hearsay in violation of People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665 and the sufficiency of the admissible evidence to establish that he is gravely disabled. The public guardian contends that A.B.’s acceptance of a subsequent petition for reappointment has rendered the present appeal moot. We agree that A.B.’s appeal is moot. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the appeal.

1

Background On June 30, 2020, the public guardian filed its petition for appointment of temporary conservator and conservator, pursuant to the Lanterman-Petris- Short (LPS) Act, Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 5000 et seq. The petition alleged that A.B. is gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder. The initial hearing on the petition was held on July 14, 2020, at which trial was set for August 18. The trial was continued several times and ultimately commenced on September 29, 2020. On October 5, the court found A.B. gravely disabled, granted the petition, and appointed the public guardian conservator of his person for a one-year period. A.B. timely filed a notice of appeal. On August 6, 2021, while the present appeal was pending, the public guardian filed a petition for reappointment.2 On October 26, A.B. agreed to accept reappointment of the conservatorship for a period of three months. As part of the negotiated disposition, the parties agreed that the petition would be dismissed upon A.B.’s acceptance at a board-and-care facility. A review hearing was set for January 25, 2022. On November 5, the court issued letters of conservatorship. Discussion When, during the pendency of a LPS conservatorship appeal, through no fault of the proposed conservator, an event occurs such that the appellate court cannot grant any effectual relief, the appeal becomes moot and should ordinarily be dismissed. (Conservatorship of J.Y. (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 220, 223, 225, review granted Aug. 19, 2020, S263044; see People v. Alsafar (2017)