In Re Conservatorship of Martha P.
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Martha P.
Opinion
Opinion
Huffman, J.
Martha P. appeals from the trial court’s grant of the San Diego County Health and Human Service’s Agency’s Office of the Public Conservator’s (public conservator’s) request to dismiss the petition to reestablish conservatorship of her person under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act or Act), Welfare and Institutions Code section 5000 et seq., and termination of her conservatorship. We are called upon to decide whether the voluntary dismissal provision of Code of Civil Procedure section 581, subdivision (b)(1) may be utilized by the public conservator to dismiss or withdraw a petition for the reestablishment of an LPS Act conservatorship. We answer this question in the affirmative, concluding that voluntary dismissal under Code of Civil Procedure section 581, subdivision (b)(1) is not inconsistent with the Act, and that the trial court properly found the public conservator could use that provision in this proceeding to dismiss the petition to reestablish Martha’s LPS Act conservatorship.
I
BACKGROUND
A. The Act
As noted by our Supreme Court in Conservatorship of Susan T. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 1005 [ 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 40 , 884 P.2d 988 ] (Susan T.), the LPS Act “governs the…