A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit that accused Nevada officials and the state psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas of dumping patients in other states by giving them bus tickets.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision Friday said it could not consider the merits of the suit because the plaintiff, James Flavey Coy Brown, failed to raise a key argument in his initial appeal documents.
The decision upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the suit.
The appeals ruling on procedural grounds prompted a dissent by Judge Susan Graber. She said Brown, a patient at Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital, had made allegations that would support a claim that the hospital put him in greater danger.
Brown said he was discharged in 2013 and given a ticket to Sacramento, where he didn't know anyone.
Mark Merin, an attorney for Brown, said he will appeal the ruling.
