Ryan Alvar v. State of Minnesota

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 25-3447 ___________________________

Ryan W. Alvar

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant

v.

State of Minnesota; St. Louis County, MN; City of Duluth; Douglas County; City of Superior; Shawn Pearson, Judge; Kathryn Bergstrom, Referee; Clarissa Ek, Child Support Magistrate; Nicole Hopps, Judge; Theresa Neo, Judge; Jordan Mae Dokken, Guardian ad Litem; Landreville & Schwandt, P.A.; Alexander M. Landreville, Attorney; Katelynn Schwandt, Attorney; Reinke Taylor, PLLC; Shawn C. Reinke, Attorney; Victoria M.B. Taylor, Attorney; Johnson Turner PLLC; Katie M. Jarvi, Attorney; Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center; Justice North Civil Legal Aid; Domestic Abuse Intervention Program, DAIP; Amy Jo Schmidt; Kartta Group; Sara Bovee, Doctor, Psy.D., LP; Ashlan Mahan, Psy.D., Psychology Fellow; Leslie Beiers, Chief Judge

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________

Submitted: May 15, 2026 Filed: May 20, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________

Before GRUENDER, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Ryan Alvar appeals after the district court1 dismissed his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, and stayed his remaining claims based on Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). After careful review of the record and the arguments properly before us, we conclude that the district court properly abstained. See Minn. Living Assistance, Inc. v. Peterson, 899 F.3d 548, 551 (8th Cir. 2018) (district court’s decision to abstain under Younger is reviewed for abuse of discretion). We also find no basis for reversal of the order sealing a guardian ad litem report that Alvar filed in the district court. Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________

1 The Honorable Katherine M. Menendez, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota.

-2-