Parker v. Third District Juvenile Court et al

Filing 22

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS - Case Closed.; finding as moot 4 Motion to Appoint Counsel ; adopting Report and Recommendations re 6 Report and Recommendations.; finding as moot 7 Motion to Expedite; finding as mo ot 12 Motion ; finding as moot 13 Motion for Default Judgment. Case Closed. Magistrate Judge Brooke C. Wells no longer assigned to case; finding as moot 17 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. Case Closed. Judge Magistrate Judge Broo ke C. Wells no longer assigned to case; finding as moot 17 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. Case Closed. Magistrate Judge Brooke C. Wells no longer assigned to case; finding as moot 19 Motion to Change Venue. Case Closed. Magistrate Judge Brooke C. Wells no longer assigned to case. Signed by Judge Clark Waddoups on 9/26/14. (jmr)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF UTAH, CENTRAL DIVISION

FRANK PARKER,
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION

Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 2:14-cv-00036-CW-BCW
UTAH OFFICE OF THE GUARDIAN AD
LITEM, BRENT NEWTON, and DAVID L.
JOHNSON,

Judge Clark Waddoups

Defendants.

This case was assigned to United States District Court Judge Clark Waddoups, who then
referred it to United States Magistrate Judge Brooke C. Wells pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
636(b)(1)(B). (See Dkt. No. 5.) Plaintiff was permitted to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1915. (Dkt. No. 2.) Consistent with Judge Wells’ treatment of the case, because
Plaintiff is proceeding pro se, the court will liberally construe his pleadings and hold them to a
“less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S.
89, 94 (2007) (quotations and citation omitted).
On January 28, 2014, Judge Wells issued a Report and Recommendation recommending
that the court dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint (Dkt. No. 3) because the court lacks jurisdiction to
“intervene,” as Plaintiff requests (see Complaint at 20), in Plaintiff’s ongoing state juvenile court
proceedings relating to his daughter under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and based on the
principle in Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971) that a federal court may not exercise
jurisdiction over a case in which there is an ongoing state action. (Report & Recommendation 34 [Dkt. No. 6].)
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After reviewing the Report and Recommendation and Plaintiff’s Objection and Amended
Objection (Dkt. Nos. 8 & 9), and upon a de novo review of Judge Wells’ findings and analysis,
the court denies Plaintiff’s objections and APPROVES AND ADOPTS Judge Wells’ Report and
Recommendation (Dkt. No. 6), dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction. The court notes, in
addition, that it does not appear that Plaintiff has exhausted applicable administrative remedies as
a prerequisite for bringing suit in federal court, including the Utah Governmental Immunity Act,
Utah Code Ann. § 63-G-7-202 (West 2014). As a court of limited jurisdiction, the court thus
does not have jurisdiction to hear Plaintiff’s case and the case must be DISMISSED and all
pending motions TERMINATED as moot. The case is therefore closed.
SO ORDERED this 26th day of September, 2014.
BY THE COURT:

____________________________________
Clark Waddoups
United States District Judge

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