Case: C.M. v. United States

2:19-cv-05217 | U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

Filed Date: Sept. 19, 2019

Closed Date: Oct. 22, 2024

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Case Summary

On September 19, 2019, five asylum-seeking parents, on their own behalf and on behalf of their minor children, filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The plaintiffs sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"). The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the American Immigration Council, sought monetary relief and attorneys fees. The plaintiffs alleged both negligence on part of the United States government and that the government caused intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED") through its child-separation policy. The government separated the asylum-seeking parents from their children, delayed providing parents and children information of each other’s whereabouts and well-being, failed to facilitate adequate communication between the parents and their children while separated, and failed to implement a system to ensure families could be reunited. The government did this deliberately, plaintiffs alleged, to deter other parents with children from seeking asylum in the United States. The case was assigned to Judge Susan Bolton.

On December 23, 2019, the United States moved to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction, citing sovereign immunity not waived by the FTCA. The district court denied the United States' motion on March 30, 2020, holding (1) the family separation alleged in the suit was a persuasive analogy to private conduct such that plaintiffs had established subject-matter jurisdiction under the FTCA and (2) neither the due care nor the discretionary function exception to the FTCA applied because the United States was not enforcing federal law when it separated plaintiffs and their children. 2020 WL 1698191. The United States moved for leave to appeal the district court's order on May 29, 2020, which was denied by the Judge Bolton on July 6, 2020 because the United States failed to present exceptional circumstances such that interlocutory review would be appropriate. 2020 WL 5232560.

The United States filed its answer to the complaint on May 13, 2020 and the parties commenced discovery in July 2020. The parties filed numerous joint motions to stay proceedings while they explored a possible settlement. During this time, the 2020 presidential election resulted in a transfer of power from the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration.

Proceedings remained stayed until January 27, 2022 when the Court scheduled a status conference. Following the status conference, discovery continued through 2022. In January 2023, the plaintiffs filed a motion for sanctions seeking evidentiary sanctions against the defendants for the production of documents after the close of discovery.

The United States filed a motion for summary judgment and submitted a statement of facts on March 9, 2023. The defendant denounced the challenged separation of families procedures as the policy decisions made by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice during the former Trump Administration. Nonetheless, the defendant contended that the FTCA does not permit recovery in tort for harms asserted to arise from policy decisions (the so-called discretionary function exception). The plaintiffs also filed a motion for partial summary judgment on March 9 specifically with regard to their IIED and negligence claims.

On August 15, 2023, the District Court granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs' motion for sanctions. The Court granted for the admission of the certain documents and handwritten notes if offered by the plaintiffs at trial and precluded the defendants from using them.

On October 24, 2023, the Court also denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment, while granting in part the plaintiffs' motion. The Court denied the defendant's motion because they had not shown that the discretionary function exception barred the plaintiffs’ claims. With regard to the plaintiffs' negligence claim, the Court concluded that the United States owed the plaintiffs a duty of care, but determined that issues of material fact existed as to whether the United States breached its duty. The Court denied the plaintiffs' IIED claim. 2023 WL 7102132.

Following a scheduling conference, a bench trial was set for April 23, 2024. However, on April 10, 2024, the parties filed a notice of conditional settlements with regard to all claims. That same day, the court granted the stipulation and vacated the pretrial and trial deadlines it had originally set.

On July 1, 2024, the parties moved for court approval over the settlement agreement, which the court then granted the next day. The plaintiffs received $1,353,000. The portion of the settlement for the minor plaintiffs were placed in a pooled trust.

The parties then proceeded to file status updates every 60 days with the court with regard to finalization of the settlement. Following resolution, on October 17, 2024, the plaintiff moved to dismiss the case. The court, thus, dismissed the case with prejudice on October 22, 2024.

	Document
2:19-cv-05217	Docket	April 9, 2021	April 9, 2021 Docket
1 2:19-cv-05217	Complaint C.M. et al v. United States	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 Complaint
31 2:19-cv-05217	Order	March 30, 2020	March 30, 2020 Order/Opinion 2020 WL 1698191
50 2:19-cv-05217	Order	July 6, 2020	July 6, 2020 Order/Opinion 2020 WL 5232560
433 2:19-cv-05217	Order	Aug. 15, 2023	Aug. 15, 2023 Order/Opinion
434 2:19-cv-05217	Order	Oct. 24, 2023	Oct. 24, 2023 Order/Opinion 2023 WL 7102132
466 2:19-cv-05217	Order	April 10, 2024	April 10, 2024 Order/Opinion
465 2:19-cv-05217	Joint Notice of Conditional Settlement and Stipulation to Stay Litigation Deadlines C.M. v. United States of America	April 10, 2024	April 10, 2024 Pleading / Motion / Brief
470 2:19-cv-05217	Order Approving Settlements of Minors’ Claims	July 2, 2024	July 2, 2024 Order/Opinion

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
6	MOTION for Protective Order, MOTION to Proceed under Pseudonyms by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(Rosenbaum, David). Added MOTION to Proceed under Pseudonyms on 9/20/2019 (REK). (Entered: 09/19/2019) 1 Text of Proposed Order View on PACER	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 RECAP
5	Summons Issued as to United States of America. (Attachments: # 1 Summons)(ARC). *** IMPORTANT: When printing the summons, select "Document and stamps" or "Document and comments" for the seal to appear on the document. (Entered: 09/19/2019) 1 Summons View on PACER	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 PACER
4	NOTICE TO THE PARTIES - The Court is participating in the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot (MIDP) and this case is subject to that pilot. The key features and deadlines are set forth in the attached Notice which includes General Order 17-08. Also attached is a checklist for use by the parties. All parties must respond to the mandatory initial discovery requests set forth in the General Order before initiating any further discovery in this case. Please note: The discovery obligations in the General Order supersede the disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(1). Any party seeking affirmative relief must serve a copy of the attached documents (Notice to Parties, including General Order 17-08 and MIDP Checklist) on each new party when the Complaint, Counterclaim, Crossclaim, or Third-Party Complaint is served. (ARC) (Entered: 09/19/2019)	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 PACER
3	Filing fee paid, receipt number 0970-17417079. This case has been assigned to the Honorable Susan R Bolton. All future pleadings or documents should bear the correct case number: CV-19-5217-PHX-SRB. Notice of Availability of Magistrate Judge to Exercise Jurisdiction form attached. (ARC) (Entered: 09/19/2019)	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 PACER
2	SUMMONS Submitted by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.. (Rosenbaum, David) (Attachments: # 1 Summons)(ARC) (Entered: 09/19/2019) 1 Summons View on PACER	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 PACER
1	COMPLAINT. Filing fee received: $ 400.00, receipt number 0970-17417079 filed by O.A., C.M., M.R., L.G., V.C..(Rosenbaum, David) (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet)(ARC) (Entered: 09/19/2019) 1 Civil Cover Sheet View on PACER	Sept. 19, 2019	Sept. 19, 2019 Clearinghouse
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Emma Curtis Winger on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Sept. 20, 2019	Sept. 20, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Sept. 20, 2019	Sept. 20, 2019 PACER
8	MOTION for Admission Pro Hac Vice as to attorney Jonathan H. Feinberg by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Good Standing)(Feinberg, Jonathan) (Entered: 09/23/2019) 1 Certificate of Good Standing View on PACER	Sept. 23, 2019	Sept. 23, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Sept. 23, 2019	Sept. 23, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Mark Michael Fleming, Katherine Melloy Goettel, and Trina Realmuto on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Sept. 23, 2019	Sept. 23, 2019 PACER
7	PROTECTIVE ORDER and ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO PROCEED UNDER PSEUDONYMS [see attached Order for details]. Signed by Senior Judge Susan R Bolton on 9/23/19. (MAW) (Entered: 09/23/2019)	Sept. 23, 2019	Sept. 23, 2019 RECAP
9	SERVICE EXECUTED filed by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.: Certified Mail Receipt re: Summons; Complaint; Civil Cover Sheet; Motion to Proceed under Pseudonyms and for Protective Order with proposed Order granting same upon U.S. Attorney for District of Arizona (Michael Bailey) and U.S. Attorney General (William Barr) on 9/23/2019. (Rosenbaum, David) (Entered: 09/24/2019)	Sept. 24, 2019	Sept. 24, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Sept. 25, 2019	Sept. 25, 2019 PACER
	Order on Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice	Sept. 25, 2019	Sept. 25, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Jonathan Howard Feinberg on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Sept. 25, 2019	Sept. 25, 2019 PACER
10	ORDER pursuant to General Order 09-08 terminating 8 Motion for Admission Pro Hac Vice. Pro hac vice incorrectly filed into civil case without fee. Correctly Per the Court's Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, applicant has five (5) days in which to register as a user of the Electronic Filing System. Registration to be accomplished via the court's website at www.azd.uscourts.gov. Counsel is advised that they are limited to two (2) additional e-mail addresses in their District of Arizona User Account. (BAS) (This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no.pdf document associated with this entry.) (Entered: 09/25/2019)	Sept. 25, 2019	Sept. 25, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Sept. 27, 2019	Sept. 27, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Robert Stanton Jones, and Lucy Sarah McMillan on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Sept. 27, 2019	Sept. 27, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Claudia Valenzuela and Tanya Eleni Kalivas on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Sept. 30, 2019	Sept. 30, 2019 PACER
11	SERVICE EXECUTED filed by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.: Affidavit of Service re: Order Granting Motion to Proceed Under Pseudonyms and for a Protective Order upon US Attorney General and US Attorney for District of Arizona on 9/28/19 and 9/30/19. (Rosenbaum, David) (Entered: 09/30/2019)	Sept. 30, 2019	Sept. 30, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Sept. 30, 2019	Sept. 30, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Diana E Reiter on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Sept. 30, 2019	Sept. 30, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Emily Anne Reeder on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Oct. 2, 2019	Oct. 2, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Oct. 2, 2019	Oct. 2, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Daniel F Jacobson, Erik Christopher Walsh, and Kaitlyn Schaeffer on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Oct. 2, 2019	Oct. 2, 2019 PACER
	Remark re Pro Hac Vice Motion	Oct. 4, 2019	Oct. 4, 2019 PACER
	Remark: Pro hac vice motion(s) granted for Mary Kenney on behalf of Plaintiffs C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., and V.C.. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (BAS)	Oct. 4, 2019	Oct. 4, 2019 PACER
12	Mail Returned as Undeliverable. Mail sent to Erik Walsh. Reason for return: Return to Sender: Attempted - Not Known - Unable to Forward. Document number 7. (REK) (Entered: 10/08/2019)	Oct. 7, 2019	Oct. 7, 2019 PACER
13	NOTICE of Appearance by Travis Charles Hunt on behalf of C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.. (Hunt, Travis) (Entered: 10/23/2019)	Oct. 23, 2019	Oct. 23, 2019 PACER
14	Joint MOTION for Extension of Time Extension to Respond to Complaint and MOTION for Enlargement of Page Limits by United States of America. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order)(MacWilliams, Philip) Modified to correct and add event; attorney noticed on 11/14/2019 (SLQ). (Entered: 11/14/2019) 1 Text of Proposed Order View on PACER	Nov. 14, 2019	Nov. 14, 2019 PACER
16	NOTICE of Appearance by Philip Davis MacWilliams on behalf of United States of America. (MacWilliams, Philip) (Entered: 11/15/2019)	Nov. 15, 2019	Nov. 15, 2019 PACER
15	NOTICE of Appearance by Theodore William Atkinson on behalf of United States of America. (Atkinson, Theodore) (Entered: 11/15/2019)	Nov. 15, 2019	Nov. 15, 2019 PACER
17	ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Joint Motion for Extension of Time and For Enlargement of Page Limits (Doc. 14 ) is GRANTED as follows: The United States shall answer or otherwise respond to the Complaint no later than December 23, 2019. Any motion filed in response to the Complaint is limited to twenty-five (25) pages [see attached Order for details]. Signed by Senior Judge Susan R Bolton on 11/18/19. (MAW) (Entered: 11/18/2019)	Nov. 18, 2019	Nov. 18, 2019 PACER
18	MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction by United States of America. (MacWilliams, Philip) (Entered: 12/23/2019)	Dec. 23, 2019	Dec. 23, 2019 RECAP
19	RESPONSE to Motion re: 18 MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction Plaintiffs' Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss filed by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.. (Rosenbaum, David) (Entered: 02/06/2020)	Feb. 6, 2020	Feb. 6, 2020 RECAP
20	MINUTE ORDER as to 18 MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction : Motion Hearing is set for 3/24/2020 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 502, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 before Senior Judge Susan R Bolton. This is a TEXT ENTRY ONLY. There is no PDF document associated with this entry. (TCA) (Entered: 02/07/2020)	Feb. 7, 2020	Feb. 7, 2020 PACER
	~Util - Set/Reset Motion and R&R Deadlines/Hearings	Feb. 7, 2020	Feb. 7, 2020 PACER
21	MOTION to Transfer Related Case by A.P.F., J.V.S.. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order) (Associated Cases: CV-19-05217-PHX-SRB, CV-20-00065-PHX-SMB) (Beauchamp, Keith) (Entered: 02/14/2020) 1 Text of Proposed Order View on PACER	Feb. 14, 2020	Feb. 14, 2020 RECAP
22	RESPONSE to Motion re: (21 in 2:19-cv-05217-SRB, 21 in 2:19-cv-05217-SRB) MOTION to Transfer Related Case filed by C.M., L.G., M.R., O.A., V.C.. (Associated Cases: 2:19-cv-05217-SRB, 2:20-cv-00065-SMB) (Rosenbaum, David) (Entered: 02/20/2020)	Feb. 20, 2020	Feb. 20, 2020 PACER

Case: C.M. v. United States

2:19-cv-05217 | U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

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