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FILE NO., COURT AND DATE FILED
04-CV-251 (S.D. Miss., Mar. 30, 2004)
CITATIONS
351 F. Supp. 2d 543 (S.D. Miss. 2004)
CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW NO.
None
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
Marcia Lowry
Eric Thompson
Tara Crean
Margaret Ross
Children's Rights, Inc.
404 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(212) 683-2210
Fax: (212) 683-4015
ethompson(at)childrenrights.org
Wayne Drinkwater
Melody McAnally
Bradley Arant Rose & White, LLP
One Jackson Place, Suite 450
188 E. Capitol Street
Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 948-8000
Fax: (601) 948-3000
wdrinkwater(at)bradleyarant.com
John Lang
Christian Carbone
Loeb & Loeb, LLP
345 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10037
(212) 407-4000
Fax: (212) 407-4990
jlang(at)loeb.com
Stephen H. Leech
P.O. Box 3623
Jackson, MS 39207
(601) 355-4013
s.leech(at)sleech.com
ISSUES
This class action lawsuit was brought on behalf of 3,000 foster children who are currently in the custody of the Mississippi Division of Family and Children's Services (DFCS) and the thousands more who are improperly diverted from the system. Plaintiffs allege that DFCS placed thousands of foster children in danger and at risk of harm, and has left many thousands more to fend for themselves in abusive and neglectful homes. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, plaintiffs brought equal protection, substantive due process, and procedural due process claims, as well as claims for violation of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act.
HISTORY AND STATUS
Plaintiffs filed the complaint in federal court in Jackson, Mississippi on March 30, 2004. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on May 17, 2004, after publicity surrounding the initial complaint yielded numerous additional reports of abuse and neglect within the Mississippi foster care system.
On November 18, 2004, the district court denied defendant's motion to dismiss as to the substantive due process claims of the children in state custody. The court dismissed plaintiffs' procedural due process claim, equal protection claim, and claims under the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act.
On March 11, 2005, the court certified a class of all children in DFCS custody. On September 8, 2005, the court granted defendants' motion for a stay of the litigation for 45 days to allow DHS to deal with the devastation in southern Mississippi resulting from Hurricane Katrina. The court extended the stay through January 1, 2006, upon defendants' motion.
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