(SS) Castillo v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARTIN CASTILLO, ) Case No.: 1:20-cv-0991 - JLT ) 12 Plaintiff, ) ORDER GRANTING PETITION TO APPOINT ) DANIELA PADRAZA REYES AS GUARDIAN 13 v. ) AD LITEM FOR MINOR PLAINTIFF MARTIN 14 ANDREW SAUL, ) CASTILLO Commissioner of Social Security, ) 15 ) (Doc. 4) Defendant. ) 16 ) ) 17 18 On July 17, 2020, Plaintiff initiated this action for judicial review of the administrative 19 decision denying his request for benefits. (Doc. 1) The Court’s preliminary review of the record 20 indicated he is sixteen years old. (See Doc. 3) Therefore, Plaintiff was ordered to file a motion for 21 appointment of a guardian ad litem. (Id.) Daniela Padraza Reyes now seeks appointment as Plaintiff’s 22 guardian ad litem. (Doc. 4) For the reasons set forth below, the petition is GRANTED. 23 I. Appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem 24 Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “[a] minor . . . who does not have a duly 25 appointed representative may sue by a next friend or by a guardian ad litem.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2). 26 In addition, a court “must appoint a guardian ad litem - or issue another appropriate order - to protect a 27 minor or incompetent person who is unrepresented in an action.” Id. The capacity of an individual to 28 sue is determined “by the law of the individual’s domicile.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b). Here, Plaintiff 1 resides in Tulare County, California (Doc. 1-1 at 1), and the law of the state governs. 2 Under California law, an individual under the age of eighteen is a minor, and a minor may 3 bring suit as long as a guardian conducts the proceedings. Cal. Fam. Code §§ 6502, 6601. A guardian 4 ad litem may be appointed to represent the minor’s interests. Cal. Code Civ. P. § 372(a). In 5 determining whether to appoint a particular guardian ad litem, the court must consider whether the 6 minor and the guardian have divergent interests. Cal. Code Civ. P. § 372(b)(1). “When there is a 7 potential conflict between a perceived parental responsibility and an obligation to assist the court in 8 achieving a just and speedy determination of the action, a court has the right to select a guardian ad 9 litem who is not a parent if that guardian would best protect the child’s interests.” Williams v. Super. 10 Ct., 147 Cal. App. 4th 36, 38 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th 2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 11 “[I]f the parent has an actual or potential conflict of interest with his child, the parent has no right to 12 control or influence the child's litigation.” Id. at 50. 13 II. Discussion and Analysis 14 Plaintiff is the child of Daniela Padraza Reyes, and is a minor under California law. See Cal. 15 Fam. Code § 6502. As a minor, the child’s ability to bring suit is contingent upon appointment by the 16 court of a guardian ad litem. Upon review of the Complaint, it does not appear there are adverse 17 interests, because the only claims are asserted on Plaintiff’s behalf. (See Doc. 1) Accordingly, 18 appointment of Daniela Padraza Reyes as guardian ad litem is appropriate. See Burke v. Smith, 252 19 F.3d 1260, 1264 (11th Cir. 2001) (“Generally, when a minor is represented by a parent who is a party 20 to the lawsuit and who has the same interests as the child there is no inherent conflict of interest.”); see 21 also Anthem Life Ins. Co. v. Olguin, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37669, at *7 (E.D. Cal. May 9, 2007) 22 (observing “[a] parent is generally appointed guardian ad litem”). 23 III. Conclusion and Order 24 The decision whether to appoint a guardian ad litem is “normally left to the sound discretion of 25 the trial court.” United States v. 30.64 Acres of Land, etc., 795 F.2d 796, 804 (9th Cir. 1986). Here, it 26 does not appear Daniela Padraza Reyes has conflicting interests with Plaintiff, and as such may be 27 appointed to represent the interests of the minor. Therefore, the Court is acting within its discretion to 28 grant the petition. 1 Based upon the foregoing, the Court ORDERS: 2 1. The motion for appointment of Daniela Padraza Reyes guardian ad litem for Plaintiff 3 Martin Castillo (Doc. 4) is GRANTED; and 4 2. Daniela Padraza Reyes is appointed to act as guardian ad litem for Plaintiff Martin 5 Castillo, and is authorized to prosecute this action on his behalf. 6 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 Dated: August 6, 2020 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 9 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28