United States v. Malhas

Opinion

1 2 6 7 UNITED STATES, Case No. 19-cv-03709-BLF

8 Plaintiff, ORDER REGARDING MOTION TO 9 v. APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM

10 WADE MALHAS, [Re: ECF No. 45] 11 Defendant.

12 13 Before the Court is the Government’s consent motion to appoint a guardian ad litem or 14 issue another appropriate order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c). ECF No. 45. 15 The Government requests that the Court, through its Federal Pro Bono Program, identify an 16 appropriate guardian ad litem to represent the interests of Defendant Wade Malhas, who the 17 parties agree suffers from dementia and cannot communicate with counsel. In the alternative, the 18 Government asks the Court to make a referral for a conservatorship or similar arrangement to the 19 Orange County Public Guardian. 20 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c) states that “[t]he court must appoint a guardian ad 21 litem—or issue another appropriate order—to protect a minor or incompetent person who is 22 unrepresented in an action.” Courts may seek a guardian ad litem through pro bono programs, bar 23 associations, law school clinical programs, or other organizations providing relevant services. See 24 Davis v. Walker, 745 F.3d 1303, 1311 (9th Cir. 2014). Here, the Court’s resources through its 25 Federal Pro Bono Program are limited to seeking pro bono counsel, not guardians ad litem. 26 Accordingly, Mr. Malhas’ interests need to be represented through a guardian ad litem or other 27 mechanism identified through other means, such as the Orange County Public Guardian 1 Because the Court has not yet relieved current counsel for Mr. Malhas, IT IS HEREBY 2 ORDERED that current counsel for Mr. Malhas SHALL submit a referral for a guardian ad litem 3 or conservator of Mr. Malhas’ estate regarding this lawsuit to the Orange County Public Guardian. 4 The parties SHALL file a joint status update no later than May 20, 2022 informing the Court of 5 the progress of the referral. This case will remain STAYED until a mechanism for representing 6 Mr. Malhas’ interests can be identified through the referral or other means. 7 8 Dated: March 18, 2022 tn) 9 Me BETH LABSON FREEMAN 10 United States District Judge 11 a 12

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