With our esteemed co-counsel and nine non-profit amici, we championed a foster child's civil rights in three federal courts including the Northern District, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

The foster child plaintiff was five years old when his younger sister first ingested methamphetamine in a foster care home placement. Despite this three- and five-year old sibling pair being wards of the court, no action was taken to protect either child. They were kept in the same obviously dangerous foster home. Two weeks later, the plaintiff's sister later ingested a lethal dose of methamphetamine and died in his arms.

Litigation lasted over seven years. We uncovered a series of systemic failures that placed these foster children, and others, at significant risk. The harm that followed was profound. 

On the eve of trial, after prevailing in motion practice in the District Court and the Ninth Circuit, we secured a settlement of $3.5M for our client.

While the financial recovery provides stability and closure for this most deserving minor plaintiff, the impact of this litigation extends beyond this result. The case uncovered systemic shortcomings that are now changed to improve the safety of foster children in our community. It also created precedent for foster children's civil rights claims to be pursued against private state actors.