Opinion ID: 767140
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Post-Appointment Safeguards

Text: 48 After appointing a guardian ad litem, a court maintains a continuing obligation to supervise the guardian ad litem's work. See Dacanay v. Mendoza, 573 F.2d 1075, 1079 (9th Cir. 1978) (It is the court's order approving the settlement that vests the guardian ad litem with the legal power to enforce the agreement.); Noe v. True, 507 F.2d 9, 12 (6th Cir. 1974) (through a guardian ad litem the court itself assumes ultimate responsibility for determinations made on behalf of the [ward]). The court may remove the guardian ad litem, see Hull v. United States, 53 F.3d 1125, 1127 n.1 (10th Cir. 1995) (noting that parties seeking to challenge the decisions of a guardian ad litem have a remedy of applying to the court to have the guardian ad litem removed); Garrick v. Weaver, 888 F.2d 687, 693 (10th Cir. 1989) (denying standing to legal representative after appointment of a guardian ad litem, reasoning that proper remedy is to petition the court for removal), or choose not to approve the guardian ad litem's proposals, see Dacanay, 573 F.2d at 1079. 49 The record in this case reveals that the district court carefully reviewed Niss's work and only approved his proposed settlement after making an independent finding that it was fair. See Neilson, 993 F. Supp. at 228. The district court also entertained requests made by Neilson and by counsel for her son to have Niss removed as guardian ad litem. Because the district court examined Neilson's case after Niss's appointment and had opportunities to remove Niss as guardian ad litem, we believe that dispensing with a formal hearing prior to appointing a guardian ad litem presents only a small risk of an erroneous deprivation. See Reeve Aleutian Airways, Inc. v. United States, 299 U.S. App. D.C. 206, 982 F.2d 594, 600 (D.C. Cir. 1993) (finding risk of erroneous deprivation to be minimal when individual suffering deprivation had opportunity for follow-up contact with the decisionmaker) (citing Gray Panthers v. Schweiker, 209 U.S. App. D.C. 153, 652 F.2d 146, 169 (D.C. Cir. 1980)); see also Gilbert v. Homar, 520 U.S. at 932 (explaining that temporary deprivations subject to post-deprivation review require fewer pre-deprivation protections).