Court-Appointed Conservator and Attorney Not Entitled to Absolute Immunity in Suit by Conservatee

A U.S. appeals court holds that in a lawsuit by a man who was involuntarily placed under conservatorship and locked in a nursing home, the court-appointed conservator is entitled to quasi-judicial immunity only to the extent she was acting with court authorization, while a court-appointed attorney and a nursing home are not entitled to any immunity. Gross v. Rell (U.S. Ct. App., 2nd Cir., No. 08-2626-cv, Sept. 25, 2012).

Daniel Gross lived in New York, but he was hospitalized while in Connecticut visiting his daughter. A hospital employee filed for a conservatorship over him and the court appointed an attorney to represent him in the proceeding. Although the conservatorship hearing did not conform to notice requirements and Mr. Gross appeared alert during the proceeding, the court granted the conservatorship and appointed a conservator. The conservator placed Mr. Gross in a locked ward at a nursing home, where he remained for about 10 months.

After he was freed, Mr. Gross sued the attorney, conservator, and nursing home in federal court. The trial court dismissed the suit, holding that all the defendants had quasi-judicial immunity, and Mr. Gross appealed. .

After certifying questions to the Connecticut Supreme Court about whether quasi-judicial immunity applies to conservators and attorneys appointed by the court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacates the trial court's decision, holding that none of the actors are entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity. According to the court, court-appointed conservators are entitled to immunity only to the extent they act with the authorization and approval of the probate court. The court further holds that court-appointed attorneys do not have immunity and that the nursing home is not entitled to immunity because it was not performing the judicial function of the probate court.

For the full text of this decision, go to: https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/4fb26938-c034-4ce2-a973-dae35d24b19d/11/doc/08-2626_final_opn.pdf.

For a FindLaw blog post on the decision, click here.

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