Ryan v. County of Imperial
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Larry Alan Burns (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a 145-page complaint filed by non-attorney parents on behalf of themselves and their minor children. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice and with leave to amend, citing the failure to provide a short and plain statement of claims and the prohibition against non-attorney parents representing minors.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Dismissal of Complaint without prejudice and with leave to amend“The Court DISMISSES the Complaint WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND WITH LEAVE TO AMEND for failure to set forth a short and plain statement of the Plaintiffs’ claims and because it purports to bring claims on behalf of individuals can’t represent themselves but aren’t represented by counsel.” | agree with court The dismissal is procedurally appropriate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(1) for failing to provide a short and plain statement. Additionally, the Ninth Circuit precedent cited correctly prohibits non-attorney parents from representing minor children in federal court. Granting leave to amend is standard practice when a pleading is defective but potentially curable. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the two primary defects: the excessive length and lack of clarity violating Rule 8(a)(1), and the unauthorized representation of minors. It cites the correct binding Ninth Circuit authority for the latter issue. The remedy (dismissal with leave to amend) is consistent with the nature of the defects.
Opinion
7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 GILDA RYAN and PAUL RYAN, et al. Case No. 3:21-cv-1076-LAB-KSC 11 Plaintiffs, ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH 12 LEAVE TO AMEND [Dkt. 1] 13 v. 14 COUNTY OF IMPERIAL, et al. 15 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 Plaintiffs Gilda and Paul Ryan, purporting to bring suit on behalf of their minor 20 children and themselves, filed their Complaint in this case on June 4, 2021. The 21 Complaint consists of 380 numbered paragraphs and 90 claims, spread across 22 145 pages. In other words, it’s not the “short and plain statement” that a pleading 23 must be. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(1). 24 Nor can Gilda and Paul Ryan bring suit on behalf of their minor children. 25 There’s no indication that either parent is an attorney, and courts in the Ninth 26 Circuit don’t permit non-attorney parents to bring suit on behalf of their children. 27 Johns v. County of San Diego, 114 F.3d 874, 876-77 (9th Cir. 1997) (“It goes 28 without saying that it is not in the interest of minors . . . that they be represented 1 ||by non-attorneys. Where they have claims that require adjudication, they are 2 ||entitled to trained legal assistance so their rights may be fully protected.”) 3 The Court DISMISSES the Complaint WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND WITH 4 |}LEAVE TO AMEND for failure to set forth a short and plain statement of the 5 Plaintiffs’ claims and because it purports to bring claims on behalf of individuals 6 can’t represent themselves but aren’t represented by counsel. Any amended 7 ||pleading should be no longer than 30 pages and must be filed no later than 8 September 14, 2021. Any claims on behalf of the Ryans’ minor children must be 9 by those children’s counsel. 10 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: July 14, 2021 Aq: f Son Hon. Larry Alan Burns 14 United States District Court Judge 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3:20cv1076-LAB-KSC