Pantell v. Antioch Unified School District et al

Filing 8

ORDER by Judge Kandis A. Westmore granting 6 Motion to Appoint Parent Adrienne Pantell as Minor D.P.'s Guardian Ad Litem. (kawlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/4/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ANDRIENNE PANTELL, as Guardian ad
Litem of DP, a minor,

Case No.: CV 14-01381-KAW
ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION TO
APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM

Plaintiff,
v.
ANTIOCH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
et al.,
Defendants.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Plaintiff Adrienne Pantell, as Guardian ad Litem of minor D.P., filed this case on March

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25, 2014. She asserts causes of action on behalf of her son based on alleged violations of the

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Americans with Disabilities Act, federal civil rights statutes, and state tort causes of action.

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(Compl., Dkt. No. 1.) Plaintiff claims that her son’s civil rights were violated through the use of

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restraints and the denial of nutrition and restroom breaks at the non-public school D.P. attended as

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his special education placement. (Compl. ¶¶ 35-46, 51.)

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Pantell seeks appointment as guardian ad litem for her minor child, D.P., who is nine years

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old. (Appl. for Appointment of Guardian Ad Litem, “Appl.,” Dkt. No. 6.) The application is

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GRANTED for the reasons set forth below.

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I.

LEGAL STANDARD

“A minor or an incompetent person who does not have a duly appointed representative

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may sue by a next friend or by a guardian ad litem. The court must appoint a guardian ad litem—

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or issue another appropriate order—to protect a minor or incompetent person who is

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unrepresented in an action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2).

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An individual’s capacity to sue is determined “by the law of the individual's domicile.”

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b). Under California law, an individual under the age of eighteen is a minor.

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Cal. Fam. Code § 6502(a)(2). A minor may bring suit as long as a guardian conducts the
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proceedings. Cal. Fam. Code § 6601. In deciding whether to appoint a guardian ad litem, the

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court must consider whether the minor and the guardian have divergent interests. Cal. Civ. Proc.

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Code § 372(b)(1). When there is no conflict of interest, the guardian ad litem appointment is

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usually made on an ex parte application and involves minimal exercise of discretion by the court.

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Kulya v. City and County of San Francisco, No. C 06-06539 JSW, 2007 WL 760776, * 1 (N.D.

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Cal. Mar. 9, 2007) (citation omitted). “[I]f the parent has an actual or potential conflict of interest

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with his child, the parent has no right to control or influence the child's litigation.” Williams v.

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Superior Court, 147 Cal. App. 4th 36, 50 (2007).
II.

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DISCUSSION

D.P. was born in 2004, and was nine years old at the time the application was filed.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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(Appl. ¶ 1.) Thus, he is under the age of eighteen and is a minor under California law. See Cal.

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Fam. Code § 6502(a)(2). His ability to bring suit is, therefore, contingent upon the appointment

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of a guardian ad litem. See id. § 6601. Pantell, the child’s biological mother, may serve as his

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guardian ad litem so long as she does not have an interest adverse to his. See Williams, 147 Cal.

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App. 4th at 50.

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Pantell filed this action on behalf of her child, and so complains of the same injury and

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seeks the same relief. See Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp. 2d 1167, 1185 (S.D. Fla. 2000), aff’d,

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212 F. 3d 1338, 1351-53 (11th Cir. 2000) (“[W]hen a parent brings an action on behalf of a child,

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and it is evident that the interests of each are the same, no need exists for someone other than the

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parent to represent the child’s interests under Rule 17(c).”). Accordingly, the court finds that the

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appointment of the proposed guardian ad litem is in the minor’s best interest.
III.

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CONCLUSION

For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s application for appointment as guardian ad
litem is GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 4, 2014

__________________________________
KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

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