Mental Health Patient ‘Parking’ Case Moot, Health Official Says

A federal lawsuit over the New Hampshire health department’s practice of “parking” involuntary mental health patients in hospital emergency rooms while awaiting transfer is moot, the state’s health commissioner told a federal appeals court.

Lori Shibinette asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to order a lower court to dismiss a lawsuit in which a patient class and several hospitals challenged the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ practice of delaying probable cause hearings for patients until they are moved to state-run facilities.

The patients argued the practice violates their 14th Amendment due process rights, ...