University of Michigan Law School
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
HOME
ABOUT
FOR TEACHERS
SEARCH
QUESTIONS
RECENT ADDITIONS
feedback/
suggestions
log in/
register
Case Profile
new search
page permalink
Case Name
Carson P. ex rel. Foreman v. Heineman
CW-NE-0001
Docket / Court
4:05-cv-03241 ( D. Neb. )
State/Territory
Nebraska
Case Type(s)
Child Welfare
Attorney Organization
Appleseed
Children's Rights, Inc.
Case Summary
On September 19, 2005, seven foster children filed a putative class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Governor of Nebraska and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The Plaintiffs, represented by ...
read more >
On September 19, 2005, seven foster children filed a putative class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Governor of Nebraska and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The Plaintiffs, represented by Children's Rights, Inc., the Nebraska Appleseed Center, and private counsel, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming that Defendants were violating Plaintiffs' substantive and procedural due process rights under the United States Constitution; Plaintiffs' rights under the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (AACWA) and the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program of the Medicaid Act. Plaintiffs also contended that Defendants were in breach of their own obligations under the state's State Plan contracts with the federal government under Titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act by denying Plaintiffs' rights to services and benefits as direct third-party beneficiaries of these State Plan contracts.
On January 19, 2007, the District Court (Judge Richard G. Kopf) entered a memorandum and order adopting Magistrate Judge David L. Piestar's Report and Recommendation denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification and granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss on Younger abstention grounds. Specifically, the Court found Plaintiffs' proposed class definition to be "both ambiguous and inconsistent with [Plaintiffs'] stated intent," and held that, even if less vague, the intended class lacked commonality and typicality. The Court further concluded that, under the doctrine announced in Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), the federal court should abstain from exercising jurisdiction in cases where equitable relief would interfere with pending state proceedings (here, the children's state juvenile court proceedings) in a way that offends principles of comity and federalism. The Court subsequently entered judgment for Defendants. Carson P. ex rel. Foreman v. Heineman, 240 F.R.D. 456 (D. Neb. 2007).
Dan Whitman - 04/04/2015
compress summary
- click to show/hide ALL -
Issues and Causes of Action
click to show/hide detail
Issues
Benefit Source
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act
Medicaid
Constitutional Clause
Due Process
Defendant-type
Jurisdiction-wide
General
Adoption
Assault/abuse by residents/inmates/students
Classification / placement
Education
Emergency shelter
Failure to supervise
Failure to train
Family reunification
Foster care (benefits, training)
Funding
Individualized planning
Juveniles
Neglect by staff
Parents (visitation, involvement)
Pattern or Practice
Placement in shelters
Record-keeping
Sexual abuse by residents/inmates
Siblings (visitation, placement)
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Visiting
Medical/Mental Health
Dental care
Medical care, general
Mental health care, general
Plaintiff Type
State Plaintiff
Causes of Action
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (AACWA), 42 U.S.C. § 620 et seq.
42 U.S.C. § 1983
Case Details
click to show/hide detail
Defendant(s)
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
Plaintiff Description
All foster children who are or will be in the legal custody of [the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services], including those alleged or adjudicated to be abused, neglected or abandoned by their parent, guardian or custodian, and those alleged or adjudicated to be wayward, uncontrollable or habitually truant.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
Appleseed
Children's Rights, Inc.
Class action status sought
Yes
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Defendant
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
None
Source of Relief
None
Filed
09/19/2005
Case Closing Year
2007
Case Ongoing
No
Additional Resources
click to show/hide detail
See this case
at CourtListener.com
(May provide additional documents and, for active cases, real-time alerts)
Legal Accountability in the Service-Based Welfare State: Lessons from Child Welfare Reform
Date: Summer 2009
By: Kathleen G. Noonan, Charles F. Sabel, William H. Simon (Center for High Impact Philanthropy , Columbia Law School and Stanford Law School Faculty)
Citation: 34 Law & Soc. Inquiry 523 (Summer 2009)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Documents
click to show/hide detail
Court
Docket(s)
D. Neb.
01/26/2007
4:05-cv-03241-RGK-DLP
CW-NE-0001-9000.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
D. Neb.
09/19/2005
Complaint [ECF# 1]
CW-NE-0001-0001.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
D. Neb.
02/13/2006
Amended Class Action Complaint [ECF# 64]
CW-NE-0001-0002.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
D. Neb.
01/19/2007
Memorandum & Order Adopting Report & Recommendation Denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification and Granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [ECF# 109]
(240 F.R.D. 456)
CW-NE-0001-0003.pdf
|
WESTLAW
|
LEXIS
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
People
click to show/hide detail
show all people docs
Judges
Kopf, Richard George
(D. Neb.)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-9000
Piester, David L.
(D. Neb.) [Magistrate]
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0003
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Adelman, Stanley J.
(Illinois)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Auten, Anne C.
(Illinois)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Carter, Jennifer A.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Colleran, Kevin
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Crean, Tara S.
(New York)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Gray, Douglas C.
(New York)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Grennan, Thomas A.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Jensen, Marnie A.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Lowry, Marcia Robinson
(New York)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Lustbader, Ira P.
(New York)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Mumgaard, D. Milo
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Sinha, Priy
(New York)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-9000
Summerlin, V. Gene
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Tricker, Edward H.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-0001 | CW-NE-0001-0002 | CW-NE-0001-9000
Defendant's Lawyers
Barton, Gregory D.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-9000
Engler, Timothy R.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-9000
Heinrich, Christopher R.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-9000
Rumbaugh, Michael J.
(Nebraska)
show/hide docs
CW-NE-0001-9000
- click to show/hide ALL -
new search
page permalink
- top of page -
Contact
Report an Error
Privacy Policy