Montgomery v. King County ( 2022 )

2 3 4 5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 6 7 8 TOM MONTGOMERY, as Personal NO. 2:20-cv-00855-TL Representative of the Estate of MICHAEL 9 TRAVIS CLINARD, deceased; et al., STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER TO APPROVE 10 Plaintiffs, SETTLEMENT AND DISMISS 11 v. 12 KING COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Washington; et al., 13 Defendants. 14 I. BACKGROUND 15 Michael Travis Clinard, the decedent in this matter, died intestate. Plaintiff Michael B. 16 Smith was appointed guardian ad litem of Mr. Clinard’s estate by the Pierce County Superior 17 Court.1 At the time of his death, Mr. Clinard was the biological father of minor children T.C., Z.C., 18 and A.C.2 Those minors, as Mr. Clinard’s surviving issue, have an interest in any award or 19 settlement proceeds awarded to the Estate of Michael Travis Clinard. The Parties here have 20 conducted mediation and negotiated a settlement that is subject to guardian ad litem and court 21 approval.3 22 23 24 1 Dkt. # 99, ¶ 3. 2 Dkt. # 99, ¶ 2. 25 3 Dkt. # 99, ¶ 4. 2 Smith Settlement Guardian Ad Litem (“GAL”).4 The Order laid out the duties of the GAL, which 3 included the issuance of a Settlement GAL Report. The GAL has now completed the Settlement 4 GAL Report, and it is attached hereto.5 5 II. LAW AND ARGUMENT 6 Courts have a “special duty, derived from Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c), to 7 safeguard the interests of litigants who are minors.” Robidoux v. Rosengren, 638 F.3d 1177, 1181 8 (9th Cir. 2011). “In the context of proposed settlements in suits involving minor plaintiffs, this 9 special duty requires a district court to ‘conduct its own inquiry to determine whether the settlement 10 serves the best interests of the minor.’” Id. (quoting Dacanay v. Mendoza, 573 F.2d 1075, 1080 11 (9th Cir. 1978)); see also Salmeron v. United States, 724 F.2d 1357, 1363 (9th Cir. 1983) (“[A] 12 court must independently investigate and evaluate any compromise or settlement of a minor’s 13 claims to assure itself that the minor's interests are protected, even if the settlement has been 14 recommended or negotiated by the minor’s parent or guardian ad litem”). When considering 15 whether to approve a proposed settlement of federal claims involving minors, the Court must 16 consider whether the settlement is fair and reasonable in light of the facts and specific claims at 17 issue and recoveries in similar cases, but without regard to the fee that the adult plaintiffs agreed to 18 pay plaintiff's counsel. Robidoux, 638 F.3d at 1181-82. 19 Here, in compliance with LCR 17(c) and the Court’s Order Appointing Michael B. Smith 20 GAL, the settlement agreement has been approved by the GAL. The Parties respectfully agree and 21 request that the Court approve the same. 22 // 23 4 Dkt. # 101. 24 5 Declaration of Ryan D. Dreveskracht in Support of Stipulated Motion and Order to Approve Settlement and Dismiss, Exhibit A. The GAL Report has been redacted per LCR 5.2(a). Upon request from the Court, an unredacted version 25 of the GAL Report will be filed under seal. Dkt. # 101, ¶ F. 2 The GAL believes the minors’ interests are safeguarded and recommends that the Court 3 should approve the settlement. The Parties thus respectfully request that the Court approve the 4 Settlement between the Parties and dismiss the case with prejudice and without further costs or 5 attorney’s fees on the terms set forth in the GAL Report. 6 DATED this 24th day of February, 2022. 7 GALANDA BROADMAN, PLLC 8 By /s/ Ryan D. Dreveskracht Ryan D. Dreveskracht, WSBA # 42593 9 Attorney for Plaintiffs P.O. Box 15146 10 Seattle, WA 98115 Phone: (206) 557-7509 11 Email: ryan@galandabroadman.com 12 KING COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY 13 By: /s/John R. Zeldenrust 14 John R. Zeldenrust, WSBA #19797 Attorney for King County Defendants 15 500 Fourth Avenue, 9th Floor Seattle, WA 98104 16 Phone: (206) 296-8820 Email: john.zeldenrust@kingcounty.gov 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2 Having considered the Motion, Settlement GAL Report, and other materials, the Court 3 hereby approves the settlement on the terms set forth in the Settlement GAL Report and dismisses 4 this case with prejudice and without further costs or attorney’s fees. 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 Dated this 4th day of March 2022. 7 A 8 Tana Lin United States District Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25