Meghann R. Miller v. Kansas Department of Children and Families, Ashley Beauchamp, in her individual and official capacity, Michelle Merritt, in her individual and official capacity, John Doe Supervisors 1–5, in their individual and official capacities, and Randy McCalla, in his individual and official capacity

CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMay 26, 2026
Docket2:25-cv-02145
StatusUnknown

This text of Meghann R. Miller v. Kansas Department of Children and Families, Ashley Beauchamp, in her individual and official capacity, Michelle Merritt, in her individual and official capacity, John Doe Supervisors 1–5, in their individual and official capacities, and Randy McCalla, in his individual and official capacity (Meghann R. Miller v. Kansas Department of Children and Families, Ashley Beauchamp, in her individual and official capacity, Michelle Merritt, in her individual and official capacity, John Doe Supervisors 1–5, in their individual and official capacities, and Randy McCalla, in his individual and official capacity) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Meghann R. Miller v. Kansas Department of Children and Families, Ashley Beauchamp, in her individual and official capacity, Michelle Merritt, in her individual and official capacity, John Doe Supervisors 1–5, in their individual and official capacities, and Randy McCalla, in his individual and official capacity, (D. Kan. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

MEGHANN R. MILLER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) CIVIL ACTION ) v. ) No. 25-2145-KHV ) KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND ) FAMILIES, ASHLEY BEAUCHAMP, in her ) individual and official capacity, MICHELLE ) MERRITT, in her individual and official capacity, ) JOHN DOE SUPERVISORS 1–5, in their ) individual and official capacities, and RANDY ) MCCALLA, in his individual and official capacity, ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________________)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

In a child custody dispute between plaintiff and her former husband, the District Court of Johnson County, Kansas ordered that plaintiff not have contact with her five children. On March 21, 2025, plaintiff filed suit pro se against the Kansas Department of Children and Families (“DCF”), and various individuals who are either DCF employees or provide services for DCF. Plaintiff alleges violation of her civil rights under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 and 1986, and her rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. She also brings various state law claims. On November 20, 2025, the Court sustained the Motion To Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint Pursuant To Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) And (6) And Memorandum In Support (Doc. #31) which DCF, Ashley Beauchamp and Michelle Merritt filed July 16, 2025 and dismissed all claims against those defendants. See Memorandum And Order And Order To Show Cause (Doc. #46) at 29–30. As to Randy McCalla and John Doe Supervisors 1–5, the Court ordered plaintiff to show cause why the Court should not also dismiss those defendants. See id. at 30. This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Response To Order To Show Cause Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b) (Doc. #50) filed December 7, 2025. For reasons stated below, plaintiff has not shown good cause and the Court therefore dismisses her claims against McCalla and the Doe Supervisors. Factual Background Highly summarized, plaintiff’s First Amended Verified Complaint (Doc. #13) filed May 8, 2025, alleges as follows:1 In the District Court of Johnson County, plaintiff and her former husband have a pending dispute which involves the custody of their five children. On January 29, 2024, based on

1 Throughout the amended complaint, plaintiff refers to numerous exhibits, but she has not attached them to the complaint or otherwise included them in the record. See, e.g., First Amended Verified Complaint (Doc. #13) at 4 (Exhibits A, B, C, EEE, NNN, UUU, VVV); id. at 5 (Exhibits D, E, F, P, Y, OO, PP, FFF, III); id. at 6 (Exhibits Z, AA, GGG, III, PPP, SSS, XXX); id. at 7 (Exhibits C, E, G, H, I, J, K, P, EEE, NNN, UUU, VVV). As best the Court can ascertain, plaintiff refers to exhibits which the Clerk filed on her behalf in Miller v. McCalla, Case No. 25- 2180, which is also before the undersigned judge. See Exhibits In Support Of Complaint (Doc. #7, #8 and #9 filed April 8, 2025 in Case No. 25-2180). Because plaintiff did not include the case number on the exhibits and she did not submit exhibits with her amended complaint in this action, it appears that plaintiff intended that the Clerk would file the exhibits in both actions before the undersigned judge. Defendants do not argue that they did not receive the exhibits. The Court therefore considers the allegations in the First Amended Verified Complaint (Doc. #13) in this action and to the extent that plaintiff has referenced exhibits, the more than 800 pages of attachments to plaintiff’s complaint filed in Case No. 25-2180. In addition to the exhibits which plaintiff has referenced in her amended complaint, the Court takes judicial notice of the orders in Matter Of Marriage Of Meghann R. Miller And Craig R. Miller, Case No. 17-cv-3002, Div. 1, which plaintiff has included as attachments to her complaint filed in Case No. 25-2180, as well as the publicly available docket sheet in that case. When deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court may consider facts which are subject to judicial notice, i.e. facts which are not subject to reasonable dispute because they are generally known or capable of accurate and ready determination from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. Fed. R. Evid. 201(b); see Grynberg v. Koch Gateway Pipeline Co., 390 F.3d 1276, 1278 n.1 (10th Cir. 2004) (facts subject to judicial notice may properly be considered in a motion to dismiss).

-2- unsubstantiated allegations of abuse and without an evidentiary hearing or notice to plaintiff, Dist rict Judge Keven O’Grady ordered that plaintiff not have contact with her children. Before January 29, 2024, Michelle Merritt, a DCF investigator, had informed Randy McCalla, the guardian ad litem, that the abuse allegations against plaintiff were unsubstantiated. McCalla nevertheless sought to remove the children from plaintiff’s custody. On June 5, 2024, Merritt told plaintiff that the abuse allegations were unfounded. Even so, unknown DCF supervisors blocked disclosure of this fact to the court. On July 22, 2024, Judge O’Grady ordered plaintiff, her former husband and their children to participate in therapy so that plaintiff could restore contact with the children. See Exhibit Q (Doc. #7-16 filed in No. 25-2180). On August 1, 2024, Judge O’Grady overruled plaintiff’s claim that McCalla lacked objectivity and her request to remove him as guardian ad litem. See Exhibit DDD (Doc. #9-3 filed in No. 25-2180). On January 22, 2025, after repeated efforts by plaintiff to correct the record, DCF general

counsel sent plaintiff a letter which acknowledged that DCF had previously closed the investigation because the allegations against her were unsubstantiated. See Exhibit E (Doc. #7-4 filed in No. 25-2180). On January 23, 2025, DCF received a new report which alleged emotional harm to plaintiff’s children from her social media activity. Ashley Beauchamp, a DCF social worker, told plaintiff that on January 22, 2025, she had interviewed plaintiff’s children about her social media activity. Plaintiff denies that Beauchamp could have interviewed the children on January 22. On February 6, 2025, Beauchamp admitted that she relied on secondhand therapist and caregiver statements, did not review Merritt’s findings and refused to provide plaintiff dates or sources of

alleged interviews.

-3- On February 25, 2025, in the state custody proceeding, plaintiff served DCF with a subp oena for records. DCF required that plaintiff and her former husband comply with its standard protective order. Plaintiff objected to the protective order because it did not allow her to make or retain copies of DCF records. Judge O’Grady overruled plaintiff’s objection because she offered no compelling reason why she needed to copy DCF records or access them without supervised viewing at the courthouse. See Exhibit SSS (Doc. #9-17 filed in No. 25-2180). On March 14, 2025, Judge O’Grady overruled plaintiff’s motion to modify the temporary parenting plan on account of alleged violation of her rights to procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. See Exhibit TTT (Doc. #9-18 filed in No.

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Meghann R. Miller v. Kansas Department of Children and Families, Ashley Beauchamp, in her individual and official capacity, Michelle Merritt, in her individual and official capacity, John Doe Supervisors 1–5, in their individual and official capacities, and Randy McCalla, in his individual and official capacity, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meghann-r-miller-v-kansas-department-of-children-and-families-ashley-ksd-2026.