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Court Officially Dismisses 30-Year-Old Mental Health Class Action Suit

The Maricopa County Superior Court officially dismissed the Arnold v. Sarn lawsuit Monday. The class action lawsuit accused the state and Maricopa County of not properly funding a mental health system required by a state statute.

The 30-year-old court case was originally settled in January. The agreement expanded treatment opportunities, job placement services and housing programs to cover all Maricopa County residents with serious mental illnesses.

Anne Ronan is an attorney with the Center for Law and the Public Interest, the organization representing the plaintiffs. She said she’s pleased with the progress she’s seen in the last nine months.

"It’s a large system and it has a brand new provider," Ronan said. "So there may be some bumps as a result of the changeover in the management of the system. But so far, what we’ve seen in the way of Mercy Maricopa’s work on implementation has been according to the agreement."

Monday’s dismissal also means the county will keep the jurisdiction to enforce the settlement.

Carrie Jung was a senior field correspondent from 2014 to 2018.