The dispute centers on claims that the state’s actions and policies violated federal civil rights statutes. The litigation involves allegations of substantive due process violations and deprivation of familial association rights, specifically concerning sibling visitation.
On April 15, 2026, Judge Aleta A. Trauger issued an Amended Order to correct a prior ruling from April 7, 2026. The earlier order had failed to address the plaintiffs’ claims under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
The court granted the defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in part and denied it in part. The motion was denied insofar as it sought dismissal of the Second Amended Complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for lack of standing, mootness, or abstention.
Regarding substantive due process claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the court denied dismissal for rights enumerated in subparagraphs (a), (b), and (e) of paragraph 278 of the complaint. However, the court granted dismissal for rights listed in subparagraphs (c), (d), (f), and (g).
The court also denied dismissal of the claim that systemic failures to afford sibling-sibling visitation violated the right to familial association. The motion to dismiss this specific familial association claim was granted regarding all other aspects of the allegation.
The court granted dismissal of the claims under the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act and the Medicaid Act, dismissing the Third and Fifth Causes of Action in their entirety. Additionally, any education-related claims falling within the scope of the IDEA were dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
The motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was denied. These claims will proceed in the litigation.