Derek Johannsen Obtains Dismissal of Case from Federal District Court
05/22/2014Derek Johannsen, on behalf of two employees pf am adoption agency sought dismissal of all plaintiff’s claims asserted in Lorne Allgood v. Natalie Walmsley and Kelly Turk, Case No. 13-03402-CV-S-GAF filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In the case, Plaintiff alleged that his constitutional rights of familial association had been violated when his niece was placed with an Arizona family through an adoption agency. Defendants, both employees of the adoption agency, were specifically alleged to have committed fraud and violated plaintiff’s due process and unenumerated rights. Derek argued that pursuant to the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, lower federal courts lack subject matter jurisdiction over challenges to state court judgments. Here, the state court judgment related to the termination of parental rights. The Court agreed and dismissed the case in its entirety.