FAMILY LAW CASES

• Davis v. US
• Chapa v. US

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 16, 2007
Davis v. US, No. 06-4514
In an action seeking a declaratory judgment to determine the amount of financial support that plaintiff owes to his wife, from whom he is legally separated, under an Affidavit of Support that the government required him to file on her behalf when she immigrated to the U.S., dismissal of the complaint is affirmed as: 1) the district court did not err in dismissing the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; 2) the complaint was barred under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; and 3) and there was no error in an alternative finding that plaintiff lacked standing for his claim. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 16, 2007
Chapa v. US, No. 06-2911
In an action brought by guardians against the government alleging that it was legally responsible, through its employees, for permanent injuries an infant suffered after being shaken by his biological father, a judgment for the government is affirmed over claims that the district court erred in utilizing the "but for" test in its proximate cause determination and in concluding that plaintiffs did not satisfy their burden of proving proximate cause. Read more...