Hugunin et al v. Rocklin Unified School District et al

Filing 25

ORDER signed by Chief Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on 8/10/2015 GRANTING plaintiff's 20 Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem. Plaintiff Michelle Mancour is APPOINTED as Guardian Ad Litem for plaintiff G.I.. (Marciel, M)

Download PDF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 PETER W. ALFERT, SBN 83139 HINTON ALFERT & KAHN LLP 200 Pringle Ave., Suite 450 Walnut Creek, California 94596 Telephone: (925) 279-3009 Facsimile: (925) 279-3342 Attorneys for PLAINTIFFS JENNIFER HUGUNIN, PATRICK HUGUNIN, D.H., KEITH CALDWELL, NICOLE HILL, X.C., TRISHA PITTS, CARL PITTS, and N.P. ALLISON S. HYATT, SBN 217567 HYATT LAW, PC 915 Highland Pointe Drive, Suite 250 Roseville, CA 95678 Telephone: (916) 724-5205 Facsimile: (916) 724-5201 Attorney for PLAINTIFFS TODD VROOMAN LAURA VROOMAN, and S.V., RICHARD ROGERS, TERRILL ROGERS and P.R., MICHELE MANCOUR and G.I. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 TODD BOLEY, SBN 68119 ZOYA YARNYKH, SBN 258062 LAW OFFICE OF TODD BOLEY 2381 Mariner Square Drive, Suite 280 Alameda, CA 94501 Telephone: (510) 836-4500 Facsimile: (510) 649-5170 JENNIFER HUGUNIN, PATRICK HUGUNIN, D.H., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem JENNIFER HUGUNIN; KEITH CALDWELL, NICOLE HILL, X.C., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem KEITH CALDWELL, TRISHIA PITTS, CARL PITTS, N.P., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem TRISHIA PITTS, TODD VROOMAN, LAURA VROOMAN, S.V., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem TODD VROOMAN, RICHARD ROGERS, TERRILL ROGERS, P.R., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem RICHARD ROGERS, MICHELLE MANCOUR and G.I., a minor by and through his guardian ad litem MICHELLE MANCOUR, Plaintiffs, v. ROCKLIN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, SHERRY MCDANIEL, CHARLES THIBIDEAU, BETTY JO WESSINGER, JANNA CAMBRA, KEVIN BROWN, ROGER STOCK, DR. TODD CUTLER, and DOES 1-30, Defendants. 28 ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM HUGUNIN, et al., v. RUSD, et al., -1- Case No: 2:15-cv-00939-MCE-DAD ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO APPOINT MICHELE MANCOUR AS GUARDIAN AD LITEM OF PLAINTIFF G.I. 1 INTRODUCTION 2 3 In this case, six minor children, and the parents of those children, have commenced an 4 action against defendants Rocklin Unified School District, Sherry McDaniel, Charles Thibideau, 5 Betty Jo Wessinger, Janna Cambra, Kevin Brown, Roger Stock and Dr. Todd Culter under 42 6 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and other federal and 7 state laws. The substance of their Compliant is that the minor plaintiffs’ special education teacher, 8 Defendant Sherry McDaniel, subjected her students to repeated verbal and physical abuse during 9 class, that they suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result, and that Defendant Charles 10 Thibideau, the principal of the school, Defendant Janna Cambra, the Director of Special Education, 11 and other Rocklin Unified School District administrators responded to the incidents improperly. 12 Plaintiff Michele Mancour moves this Court for an order appointing her as guardian ad litem for 13 her son, minor plaintiff G.I. No party has opposed the motion. 14 15 STANDARD 16 17 Rule 17(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a minor or an incompetent 18 person who does not have a duly appointed representative may sue by a next friend or by a 19 guardian ad litem and “[t]he court must appoint a guardian ad litem -- or issue another appropriate 20 order -- to protect a minor or incompetent person who is unrepresented in an action.” See 21 Fed.R.Civ.P. 17(c)(2). 22 An individual’s capacity to sue is determined by the law of the individual’s domicile. Fed. 23 R. Civ. P. 17(b). Under California law, an individual under the age of eighteen is a minor. Cal. 24 Fam. Code § 6502. A minor may bring suit if a guardian conducts the proceedings. Cal. Fam. 25 Code § 6601. In making the determination concerning the appointment of a particular guardian ad 26 litem, the court shall consider whether the minor and the guardian have divergent interests. Cal. 27 Code Civ. P. § 372(b)(1). 28 ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM HUGUNIN, et al., v. RUSD, et al., -2- 1 “‘When there is a potential conflict between a perceived parental responsibility and an 2 obligation to assist the court in achieving a just and speedy determination of the action,’ a court has 3 a right to select a guardian ad litem who is not a parent if that guardian would best protect the 4 child’s interests.” Williams v. Super. Ct., 147 Cal.App.3d 36, 49 (2007) (quoting M.S. v. Wermers, 5 557 F.2d 170, 175 (8th Cir. 1977). 6 A parent may serve as a minor plaintiff’s guardian ad litem provided that the parent does 7 not have interests adverse to those of the child, and “[g]enerally, when a minor is represented by a 8 parent who is a party to the lawsuit and who has the same interests as the child there is no inherent 9 conflict of interest.” Burke v. Smith, 252 F.3d 1260, 1264 (11th Cir. 2001); see also Gonzales v. 10 Reno, 86 F.Supp.2d 1167, 1185 (S.D. Fla. 2000), aff’d 212 F.3d 1338 (11th Cir. 2000) (“[W]hen a 11 parent brings an action on behalf of a child, and it is evident that the interests of each are the same, 12 no need exists for someone other than the parent to represent the child’s interests under Rule 13 17(c).”) 14 According to the Declaration of Michele Mancour filed in support of Plaintiffs’ Motion, 15 G.I. is a minor and is currently ten years of age. Because G.I. is under the age of eighteen, he is a 16 minor under California law. Cal. Fam. Code § 6502. As a minor, his ability to bring suit is 17 contingent upon appointment by the Court of a guardian ad litem. Michele Mancour is G.I.’s 18 mother and is also a Plaintiff in this action. Ms. Mancour may serve as G.I.’s guardian ad litem 19 provided that she does not have any interests that are adverse to G.I. 20 Upon review of the Complaint, the Notice of Motion and Motion to Appoint Michele 21 Mancour as Guardian ad Litem of Plaintiff G.I., argument of counsel, and the Declaration of 22 Michele Mancour submitted in support thereof, the Court finds that Plaintiff Michele Macour has 23 no interests adverse to the interests of G.I. Ms. Mancour brought this action on behalf of her minor 24 son, and thus the Court finds no conflict with G.I.’s claims. 25 26 27 28 ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM HUGUNIN, et al., v. RUSD, et al., -3- 1 CONCLUSION 2 Based on the foregoing, Plaintiffs Motion to Appoint Michele Mancour as Guardian ad 3 Litem for Plaintiff G.I. is GRANTED. The Court hereby appoints Michele Mancour as the 4 guardian ad litem for G.I. 5 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: August 10, 2015 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM HUGUNIN, et al., v. RUSD, et al., -4-

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?