Lum v. Lee

A case becomes moot when a court’s decision will no longer have a practical effect on the rights of the parties.

This action arose when Wong’s daughter, Lum, petitioned to appoint a professional fiduciary as her father’s conservator. Previously, Wong became mentally incapacitated and his second wife, Lee, petitioned to be his appointed guardian, to which court appointed counsel objected. Instead, the parties appointed a professional fiduciary as guardian. After Lum petitioned to make the fiduciary her father’s conservator, Lee objected and petitioned to make herself conservator. The trial court appointed the professional fiduciary to be the conservator and Lee appealed. While waiting on appeal, Wong passed away. On appeal, Lum moved to dismiss the appeal as moot, since her father had died. The Oregon Court of Appeals agreed and reinstated that “[A] case becomes moot when a court’s decision will no longer have a practical effect on the rights of the parties.” State v. K. J. B., 362 Or 777, 785, 416 P.3d 291 (2018). Here, the decision on appeal would have no effect on the parties because after Wong’s death, a) the conservatorship no longer existed and b) the fiduciary was discharged. Therefore, the Court dismissed this case as moot.