Estate of Anna Creason v. City of Concord

MEMORANDUM *

Appellant sought a modification to City of Concord’s local ordinances governing fence heights and setbacks. Appellant claims Concord’s refusal to grant an accommodation violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), as well as other federal statutes and California state law. The parties are familiar with the facts of this case and we do not repeat them here.

The original plaintiff in this case, Anna Creason, died while this case was pending on appeal, and her estate was substituted as the Plaintiff-Appellant on May 13, 2005. Anna Creason’s death has rendered Appellant’s claims for injunctive relief moot. Because mootness is a jurisdictional question, we consider the question independent of the parties’ arguments. See Cammermeyer v. Perry, 97 F.3d 1235 , 1237 n. 3 (9th Cir.1996). A case can become moot while it is on appeal. See United States v. Tanoue, 94 F.3d 1342, 1344 (9th Cir.1996) (“[A]n appeal must be dismissed as moot if an event occurs while the appeal is pending that makes it impossible for the appellate court to grant any effectual relief whatever to the prevailing party.”) (quotation marks and citation omitted). Any injunctive relief would…