W.A. v. Panama-Buena Vista Union School District ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 W.A., by and through his guardian ad litem, ) Case No.: 1:21-cv-0539 NONE JLT VICTORIA ANDERSON, ) 12 ) ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO Plaintiff, ) APPOINT VICTORIA ANDERSON AS 13 v. ) GUARDIAN AD LITEM FOR MINOR PLAINTIFF 14 ) W.A. PANAMA-BUENA VISTA UNION ) 15 SCHOOL DISTRICT, ) (Doc. 2) ) 16 Defendant. ) ) 17 18 On March 30, 2021, W.A. initiated this action by and through Victoria Anderson, seeking 19 review of an administrative decision, and asserting violations of the IDEA, ADA, and the 20 Rehabilitation Act. (See generally Doc. 1.) Victoria Anderson seeks to be appointed as the guardian 21 ad litem for W.A. (Doc. 2) For the reasons set forth below, the request is GRANTED. 22 I. Appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem 23 Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “[a] minor . . . who does not have a duly 24 appointed representative may sue by a next friend or by a guardian ad litem.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2). 25 In addition, a court “must appoint a guardian ad litem - or issue another appropriate order - to protect a 26 minor or incompetent person who is unrepresented in an action.” Id. The capacity of an individual to 27 sue is determined “by the law of the individual’s domicile.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b). Here, W.A. resides 28 in Kern County, California (see Doc. 1-1 at 1), and the law of the state governs. 1 Under California law, an individual under the age of eighteen is a minor, and a minor may 2 bring suit if a guardian conducts the proceedings. Cal. Fam. Code §§ 6502, 6601. A guardian ad litem 3 may be appointed to represent the minor’s interests. Cal. Code Civ. P. § 372(a). In determining 4 whether to appoint a particular guardian ad litem, the court must consider whether the minor and the 5 guardian have divergent interests. Cal. Code Civ. P. § 372(b)(1). “When there is a potential conflict 6 between a perceived parental responsibility and an obligation to assist the court in achieving a just and 7 speedy determination of the action, a court has the right to select a guardian ad litem who is not a 8 parent if that guardian would best protect the child’s interests.” Williams v. Super. Ct., 147 Cal. App. 9 4th 36, 38 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th 2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “[I]f the parent has 10 an actual or potential conflict of interest with his child, the parent has no right to control or influence 11 the child's litigation.” Id. at 50. 12 II. Discussion and Analysis 13 W.A. is the son of Victoria Anderson and.is a minor under California law. See Cal. Fam. Code 14 § 6502. As a minor, his ability to bring suit is contingent upon appointment by the court of a guardian 15 ad litem. Upon review of the Complaint, it does not appear there are adverse interests, because W.A. 16 is the only plaintiff in this action, and the only claims are asserted on his behalf. Accordingly, 17 appointment of Victoria Anderson as guardian ad litem is appropriate. See Burke v. Smith, 252 F.3d 18 1260, 1264 (11th Cir. 2001) (“Generally, when a minor is represented by a parent who is a party to the 19 lawsuit and who has the same interests as the child there is no inherent conflict of interest.”); see also 20 Anthem Life Ins. Co. v. Olguin, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37669, at *7 (E.D. Cal. May 9, 2007) 21 (observing “[a] parent is generally appointed guardian ad litem”). 22 III. Conclusion and Order 23 The decision whether to appoint a guardian ad litem is “normally left to the sound discretion of 24 the trial court.” United States v. 30.64 Acres of Land, etc., 795 F.2d 796, 804 (9th Cir. 1986). Here, it 25 does not appear Victoria Anderson has conflicting interests with W.A., and as such may be appointed 26 to represent the interests of the minor plaintiff. Therefore, the Court is acting within its discretion to 27 grant the application. Based upon the foregoing, the Court ORDERS: 28 1. The petitions for appointment of Victoria Anderson as the guardian ad litem for W.A., 1 (Doc. 2) is GRANTED; and 2 2. Victoria Anderson is appointed to act as guardian ad litem for Plaintiff W.A. and is 3 authorized to prosecute this action on his behalf. 4 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 Dated: April 7, 2021 _ /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 7 CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28