FAMILY LAW CASES

• McMahon v. Kindlarski
• Jones v. Swanson
• Atwood v. Fort Peck Tribal Court
• In re James F.
• Sharon v. Sharon
• Marriage of Barthold
• In re Marriage of James M.
• In re Jonathan P.

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, January 15, 2008
McMahon v. Kindlarski, No. 06-4274
In a suit under 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1985 alleging that police officers conspired to deny plaintiff's rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where plaintiff failed to establish a deprivation of a liberty interest in his assertion that an officer's statements caused pressure for him to leave a university and change career paths, and where plaintiff's protectable right to familial associations was not violated by the length of a custody hearing. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, January 16, 2008
Jones v. Swanson, No. 07-1864
In proceedings arising from a South Dakota alienation of affection suit in which a judgment was rendered against defendant, dismissal of defendant's motion to vacate brought under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and orders denying motions to conduct post-judgment discovery and to designate the real party in interest, are affirmed as: 1) there was no abuse of discretion in finding the Rule 60 motion untimely; and 2) the remaining issues were moot. Read more...

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, January 18, 2008
Atwood v. Fort Peck Tribal Court, No. 06-35299
In a case involving a custody dispute concerning an Indian child, dismissal of non-Indian father's action challenging a tribal court's jurisdiction and ruling in the dispute is affirmed where: 1) the "domestic relations exception," a doctrine divesting the federal courts of jurisdiction, applies only to the diversity jurisdiction statute; 2) thus, the district court erred by applying the domestic relations exception because federal question jurisdiction exists in this case; but 3) dismissal was nonetheless proper due to plaintiff's failure to exhaust tribal court remedies. Read more...

Supreme Court of California, January 17, 2008
In re James F., No. S150316
A juvenile court's error in the procedure used to appoint a guardian ad litem for a parent in a dependency proceeding does not require automatic reversal of an order terminating the parent's parental rights, but instead the error is subject to harmless error review. Read more...

Supreme Court of Florida, January 17, 2008
Sharon v. Sharon, No. SC06-93
Petitioner's motion for summary relief is granted, the decision under review is granted and the matter is remanded for reconsideration upon application of the decision in Montello v. Montello, 961 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 2007). Read more...

California Appellate Districts, January 15, 2008
Marriage of Barthold, No. A116083
In marital dissolution case, judge's denial of a post-judgment motion filed by the wife and judge's subsequent reversal of himself to grant relief sought by wife, is affirmed as the trial court's inherent authority to correct its errors applies even when the trial court was prompted to reconsider its prior ruling by a motion filed in violation of Code of Civil Procedure section 1008. Read more...

California Appellate Districts, January 15, 2008
In re Marriage of James M., No. G037159
Judgment entered on husband's petition for dissolution of marriage is reversed as the trial court erred by denying wife's request under the Americans with Disabilities Act and California Rule of Court 1.100 to continue the trial. Wife suffers from bipolar disorder, a potentially incapacitating mental illness, and, on her psychiatrist's recommendation, checked herself into a hospital the day before trial was set to resume. Read more...

Illinois Courts of Appeal, January 14, 2008
In re Jonathan P., No. 2061244
Order authorizing the involuntary administration of psychotropic medication to respondent for up to 90 days pursuant to section 2--107.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code is reversed where the order fails to designate who is authorized to administer psychotropic medication to respondent. Read more...