Opinion
18-P-96
01-02-2019
IN THE MATTER OF V.G.
NOTICE: Summary decisions issued by the Appeals Court pursuant to its rule 1:28, as amended by 73 Mass. App. Ct. 1001 (2009), are primarily directed to the parties and, therefore, may not fully address the facts of the case or the panel's decisional rationale. Moreover, such decisions are not circulated to the entire court and, therefore, represent only the views of the panel that decided the case. A summary decision pursuant to rule 1:28 issued after February 25, 2008, may be cited for its persuasive value but, because of the limitations noted above, not as binding precedent. See Chace v. Curran, 71 Mass. App. Ct. 258, 260 n.4 (2008).
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 1:28
The appellant, V.G., was involuntarily committed to Westwood Lodge Hospital pursuant to G. L. c. 123, §§ 7, 8. A separate order authorized the administration of antipsychotic medication to V.G. pursuant to G. L. c. 123, § 8B. V.G. appealed these orders to the Appellate Division of the District Court. By the time of the hearing in the appeal, V.G. had been discharged from Westwood Lodge Hospital. The Appellate Division concluded that the matter was moot and dismissed the appeal. This appeal followed.
After this appeal was entered on our docket, the Supreme Judicial Court clarified that appeals from commitment and treatment orders are not rendered moot simply because those orders have expired or terminated. Matter of F.C., 479 Mass. 1029, 1029-1030 (2018). The Appellate Division did not have the benefit of this holding at the time it dismissed V.G.'s appeal. Accordingly, the decision and order of the Appellate Division is vacated, and the matter is remanded for consideration of the underlying merits of V.G.'s appeal.
We decline V.G.'s invitation to reach the underlying merits of the appeal.
So ordered.
By the Court (Blake, Lemire & Singh, JJ.),
The panelists are listed in order of seniority. --------
/s/
Clerk Entered: January 2, 2019.