Pedreira, et al v. Sunrise Children's Services, et al

Filing 646

MEMORANDUM OPINION by Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson, III on 9/7/21: A separate order and final judgment voluntarily dismissing the action with prejudice will be entered herein this date in accordance with this Memorandum Opinion. cc: Counsel (DJT)

Case 3:00-cv-00210-CRS Document 646 Filed 09/08/21 Page 1 of 2 PageID #: 7736

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
AT LOUISVILLE

ALICIA M. PEDREIRA, et al.

PLAINTIFF

v.

3:00-CV-210-CRS

SUNRISE CHILDREN’S SERVICES, INC., et al.

DEFENDANTS

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the court on the joint motion of the plaintiffs, Alicia M. Pedreira, et
al.,1 and the Commonwealth Defendants2 for voluntary dismissal of the action with prejudice.
Ironically, after twenty years of litigation and 645 docket entries numbering over 7700
pages, this will be the shortest opinion authored by the Court in the matter:
1. An Establishment Clause claim was brought against the Commonwealth Defendants
by Kentucky taxpayer plaintiffs.
2. A joint motion is before the Court, filed by the parties to the sole remaining claim,
Pedreira, et al. and the Commonwealth Defendants, to voluntarily dismiss the
Establishment Clause claim with prejudice pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(2) and to
thus bring this litigation to an end.

1

Alicia M. Pedreira, Johanna W.H. Van Wijk-Bos, and Elwood Sturtevant are the Kentucky taxpayers who have
asserted an Establishment Clause claim concerning the Commonwealth’s use of taxpayer funds.
2
Eric Friedlander, in his official capacity as the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Justice
Mary Noble, in her official capacity as the Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, collectively the
Commonwealth Defendants.

Case 3:00-cv-00210-CRS Document 646 Filed 09/08/21 Page 2 of 2 PageID #: 7737

3. Controlling precedent in this circuit, Smoot v. Fox, 340 F.2d 301 (6th Cir. 1964),
indicates that a voluntary dismissal with prejudice “is a complete adjudication of the
issues presented by the pleadings and is a bar to a further action between the parties”
and holds that this Court has no discretion to deny the motion.
4. All other matters discussed in the briefs3 are irrelevant to this decision and will not be
addressed herein.
A separate order and final judgment voluntarily dismissing the action with prejudice will
be entered herein this date in accordance with this Memorandum Opinion.

September 7, 2021

Sunrise Children’s Services, Inc. does its best to argue against the application of Smoot, but to no avail. All
discussion of the 2021 Settlement Agreement between Pedreira, et al and the Commonwealth Defendants is
pointless and will not be addressed by the Court as that Settlement Agreement is not properly before the Court for
any relevant purpose. Additionally, the summary judgment motion is rendered moot by the voluntary dismissal with
prejudice of the claim and its attendant result, as noted in Smoot.
3