Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_18-cv-02850/USCOURTS-casd-3_18-cv-02850-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1346 U.S. Defendant

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18cv2850-CAB-MDD

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

AUBRIE F., by and through her Guardian 

Ad Litem, Shelbe Foate,

Plaintiff,

v.

UNITED STATES,

Defendant.

Case No.: 18cv2850-CAB-MDD

ORDER REGARDING PETITION 

FOR APPOINTMENT OF 

GUARDIAN AD LITEM [Doc. No. 5.]

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Aubrie F’s Petition for Appointment of 

Guardian Ad Litem. [Doc. No. 5.] 

The Petition states that Shelbe Foate is the mother of Minor Plaintiff Aubrie F., 

and requests the Court appoint Shelbe Foate as guardian ad litem. [Doc. No. 5 at ¶¶ 1-6.] 

Nothing in the petition indicates that Ms. Foate does not have legal custody of Aubrie F.

Therefore, it is unclear why it is necessary to separately appoint Ms. Foate as guardian ad 

litem in this lawsuit, when it appears that she is a general guardian who can sue on her 

child’s behalf. See Doe ex rel. Sisco v. Weed Union Elementary Sch. Dist., No. 2:13-

CV-01145-GEB, 2013 WL 2666024, at *1 (E.D. Cal. June 12, 2013) (holding that 

parents’ application for appointment as guardian ad litem was unnecessary, noting that 

Case 3:18-cv-02850-CAB-MDD Document 8 Filed 05/10/19 PageID.<pageID> Page 1 of 2
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18cv2850-CAB-MDD

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“Rule 17(c)(1)(A) permits a ‘general guardian’ to sue in federal court on behalf of a 

minor, and ‘[a] parent is a guardian who may so sue.’”); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c).

Accordingly, the Petition to appoint Shelbe Foate as the guardian ad litem for

Aubrie F. is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Petitioner may re-file the petition 

with citation to legal authority and explanation as to why the appointment of a guardian 

ad litem is necessary in this case.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: May 9, 2019

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