Doe v. El Dorado County Office of Education

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JANE DOE, No. 2:25-cv-00764-DAD-SCR 12 Plaintiff, 13 v. ORDER 14 EL DORADO COUNTY OFFICE OF 15 EDUCATION, et al., 16 Defendants. 17

18 19 Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion to appoint guardian ad litem (“GAL”). ECF No. 15. 20 The motion has been referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A). See ECF 21 No. 21. The motion recites that the parties met and conferred prior to the filing of the motion, 22 and Defendant does not intend to oppose the motion. ECF No. 15 at 2. The time for filing an 23 opposition has expired, and no opposition was filed. See LR 230(c). 24 On May 27, 2025, the Court directed Plaintiff’s counsel to provide information to comply 25 with Local Rule 202(c) and allowed Plaintiff the opportunity to file supplemental materials 26 concerning her competency. ECF No. 23. The order required the supplemental materials be filed 27 by June 10, 2025, and allowed Defendants until June 20, 2025 to file an optional response. The 28 supplemental materials were filed, no response was filed, and the matter was taken under 1 submission without oral argument. ECF Nos. 29 & 30. 2 Having considered the supplemental materials, the Court finds it is appropriate to grant 3 the motion and appoint Plaintiff’s mother, P.W., as guardian ad litem in this matter. 4 Under Rule 17 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “[a] minor or an incompetent 5 person who does not have a duly appointed representative may sue by a next friend or by a 6 guardian ad litem.” “The court must appoint a guardian ad litem—or issue another appropriate 7 order—to protect a minor or incompetent person who is unrepresented in an action.” Fed. R. Civ. 8 P. 17(c)(2). A representative of a minor or incompetent person may sue or defend on behalf of 9 the minor or incompetent person. Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c). 10 The appointment of the guardian ad litem is more than a mere formality. See United 11 States v. 30.64 Acres of Land, More or Less, Situated in Klickitat Cnty., State of Wash., 795 F.2d 12 796, 805 (9th Cir. 1986). A court shall take whatever measures it deems appropriate to protect 13 the interests of the individual during the litigation. Id. The guardian need not possess special 14 qualifications, but he must “be truly dedicated to the best interests of the person on whose behalf 15 he seeks to litigate.” AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Yeager, 143 F.Supp.3d 1042, 1054 (E.D. Cal. 2015) 16 (quoting Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 163-64 (1990)). The decision to appoint a 17 guardian ad litem “must normally be left to the sound discretion of the trial court.” 30.64 Acres 18 of Land, 795 F.2d at 804. 19 The motion requests the Court find that Plaintiff, a 24-year old woman, is “incompetent” 20 under Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c) and appoint her mother as the GAL. ECF No. 15. The motion 21 contends that Plaintiff is intellectually disabled and has “developmental delay and the cognitive 22 functioning of a 10- to 12-year old.” ECF No. 15 at 3. Plaintiff’s mother attests to this fact and 23 that Plaintiff does not have the capacity to represent herself. ECF No. 15-1. The mother’s 24 supplemental declaration states that Plaintiff has been diagnosed as “moderately mentally 25 retarded” and that she is living in a group home that provides daily living support. ECF No. 29 at 26 ¶ 4. The declaration further states that Plaintiff has an Individualized Education Plan and has 27 been assessed with a Section 210 intellectual disability which means she has “significantly 28 subaverage general intellectual functioning.” Id. Plaintiff’s mother further avers that she has no 1 | interests adverse to Plaintiff and consents to serving as her GAL. 2 Plaintiff’s counsel, Omar Qureshi, has also submitted an affidavit to address the 3 || requirements of Local Rule 202(c). ECF No. 29-1. Local Rule 202(c) requires disclosure of an 4 || attorney’s interest. The declaration of Plaintiff's counsel meets the requirements of the Rule 5 || 202(c). For these reasons, the Court finds it appropriate to appoint Plaintiff's mother, P.W., to 6 || represent her interests in this matter and that the requirements of Local Rule 202 have been met. 7 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 8 1. The motion for appointment of Plaintiff's mother, P.W., as guardian ad litem (ECF No. 9 15) is GRANTED. The motion was previously filed at ECF No. 7 and the Clerk’s office 10 shall terminate that motion. 11 2. Plaintiffs mother, P.W., is appointed as guardian ad litem for Plaintiff Jane Doe and is 12 authorized to prosecute the action on her behalf. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 | DATED: August 29, 2025 15 /

16 SEAN C. RIORDAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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