Child Placing Agency Awarded Summary Judgment

A federal judge in the Southern District of West Virginia granted summary judgment in favor of a child-placing agency in a case arising out of the death of an infant who had been removed from her parents' custody and placed into foster care.  The court agreed with the placing agency that the foster parents are not its agents for whose actions the agency may be liable because the “ultimate engagement, payment, dismissal, and control of foster parents” rests with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the regulations imposed by the State of West Virginia. 

The child-placing agency was represented by Flaherty Attorneys Thomas V. Flaherty and Wesley P. Page.

Disclaimer: Case summaries, reports of past results and individual lawyer biographies on this website describe past matters handled for clients of the firm. These descriptions are meant only to provide information to the public about the activities and experience of our lawyers. They are not intended as a guarantee that the same or similar results can be obtained in every matter undertaken by our lawyers. You must not assume that a similar result can be obtained in a legal matter of interest to you. The outcome of a particular matter can depend on a variety of factors—including the specific factual and legal circumstances, the ability of opposing counsel, and, often, unexpected developments beyond the control of any client or lawyer.