Marran v. Marran

• Decision Date: 15 July 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-3018.,03-3018.
• Citation: 376 F.3d 143
• Parties: Rachel MARRAN; Claudia Librett, Appellants v. Michael MARRAN; Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth; Montgomery County, PA.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

376 F.3d 143

Rachel MARRAN; Claudia Librett, Appellants v. Michael MARRAN; Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth; Montgomery County, PA.

No. 03-3018.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued April 13, 2004.

Filed July 15, 2004.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Michael M. Baylson, J.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

R. Nicholas Gimbel, (Argued), McCarter & English, Philadelphia, for Appellants.

Gavin P. Lentz, Stephen E. Skovron, (Argued), Bochetto & Lentz, Philadelphia, for Appellee Michael Marran.

Walter F. Kawalec, III, (Argued), Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin Woodland Falls Corporate Park, Cherry Hill, for Appellees Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth; and County of Montgomery.

Before RENDELL, COWEN and LAY,^* Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

COWEN, Circuit Judge.

Claudia Librett ("Librett") and Michael Marran ("Marran") were involved in a protracted custody dispute over their daughter, Rachel. After the state proceedings had ended, Librett and Rachel brought this action, based on the allegations of child abuse that had been made during the custody proceedings. They appeal the order of the District Court dismissing their complaint under Rooker-Feldman, Younger abstention, and Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. We will affirm the dismissal, although on somewhat different grounds than those given by the District Court.

I.

Librett and Marran cohabited for a time in New York, but were never married. On May 21, 1999, while they were still living together, Librett gave birth to Rachel, the couple's only child. Shortly after Rachel's birth, Marran and Librett were involved in an altercation that became physical. As a result of that altercation, Marran pled guilty to a state criminal charge of harassment in the second degree, and the parties separated. By consent as approved by the family court in New York, Librett was granted sole physical and legal custody of Rachel, and Marran was allowed supervised visitation with the child. Librett was also granted permission to move with Rachel to Pennsylvania.

After Librett and Rachel moved to Pennsylvania, Marran sought to modify his visitations by filing a motion in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County. Hearings in the matter began in October 2000 and continued through May 24, 2002. During this time, Marran was permitted seven unsupervised visits, which culminated in an overnight visit from December 11 to December 12, 2001. Sometime after May 2002, Librett began to suspect that Marran had sexually abused Rachel. Librett filed several complaints of abuse with the Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth ("OCY"). She also filed petitions to modify and suspend Marran's visitations. In response, the Court of Common Pleas suspended Marran's visitation rights, and OCY conducted an investigation into the allegations. OCY ultimately determined that the allegations of sexual abuse were unfounded. Relying on these findings, the Court of Common Pleas reinstated Marran's visitation rights. On January 9, 2003, the Court of Common Pleas issued a custody order in which it found that there was nothing to substantiate Librett's allegations that Marran had sexually abused Rachel, and found that Librett was intent on excluding Marran from Rachel's life. The court then awarded joint legal custody to Marran and Librett, primary physical custody to Librett, and partial physical custody to Marran. Librett appealed the orders lifting suspension of Marran's visitation rights, denying a subsequent emergency petition based on the same events, and awarding custody. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the orders, including those dealing with the abuse allegations. An appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is now pending.¹

Rather than wait for the Pennsylvania courts to rule on the appeal, Librett filed this action in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Librett sought damages from Marran on her own and Rachel's behalf, as well as an injunction prohibiting Marran from abusing Rachel. The complaint alleged claims for assault and battery, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of implied contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of earnings during minority. In addition, Librett and Rachel brought a claim under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the Montgomery County defendants had violated Librett's and Rachel's constitutional rights by failing to properly investigate the allegations of abuse. The complaint sought monetary damages and a declaration that OCY's findings regarding the abuse allegations were null and void, and could not be relied upon for any purpose.

Both Marran and the Montgomery County defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing, inter alia, that the District Court lacked jurisdiction over the claims under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, that the District Court should abstain from exercising its jurisdiction, and that the complaint had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. On June 12, 2003, the District Court dismissed the complaint, holding that it lacked jurisdiction over all of the claims under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. Alternatively, the District Court held that Younger abstention was proper. Finally, the District Court held that the complaint had failed to state a claim against the Montgomery County defendants. This appeal followed.

II.

As a preliminary matter, the Montgomery County defendants have filed a motion to dismiss this appeal. They argue that Librett is a fugitive from justice and should not be entitled to use this Court's resources to promote her own ends, when she is unwilling to follow the Pennsylvania court's custody orders. Although it is troubling that Librett would blatantly ignore another court's orders while seeking relief before this Court, we are not convinced that dismissal is warranted, and will deny the motion.

The Supreme Court has recognized that courts have the power to dismiss a fugitive's criminal appeal. See Molinaro v. New Jersey, 396 U.S. 365, 366, 90 S.Ct. 498, 24 L.Ed.2d 586 (1970) (a fugitive's escape "disentitles the defendant to call upon the resources of the Court for determination of his claims"). The Supreme Court later held, however, that a claimant's failure to appear in a criminal case does not permit a district court to grant summary judgment to the government in a related civil forfeiture case. Degen v. United States, 517 U.S. 820, 829, 116 S.Ct. 1777, 135 L.Ed.2d 102 (1996). In addition, it has held that an appellate court does not have the power to dismiss an appeal when a convicted felon who fled after conviction but before sentencing was recaptured before the appeal. Ortega-Rodriguez v. United States, 507 U.S. 234, 246, 113 S.Ct 1199, 122 L.Ed.2d 581 (1993). The Supreme Court reasoned that, although the fugitive's flight acted as an affront to the district court's authority, permitting "an appellate court to sanction by dismissal any conduct that exhibited disrespect for any aspect of the judicial system, even where such conduct has no connection to the course of the appellate proceedings," would sweep too broadly. Id. The Court did, however, recognize that dismissal would be appropriate if the fugitive's status in some way prejudiced the government's status as a litigant, but found that the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit had not articulated such prejudice in dismissing the case.

In the state court proceedings, Librett has failed to produce Rachel for the visitations required by the custody order. As a result, Librett has been held in contempt by the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County. Criminal charges have also been filed against her in Montgomery County for interfering with child custody and concealment of the whereabouts of a child, in connection with her refusal to produce Rachel under the custody order. Although the finding of contempt and the criminal charges are very troubling and relate in part to the events underlying this case, they have no direct effect on the processing of this appeal. Even assuming that Librett is a fugitive from justice, the Montgomery County defendants have not shown that her status as a fugitive would prejudice them in this appeal. We also observe that the affront was to the dignity of the Pennsylvania courts, not to this Court. Dismissing this appeal under the fugitive disentitlement doctrine would expand that doctrine even beyond the scope rejected by the Supreme Court in Ortega-Rodriguez. Moreover, the fact that Librett is not acting solely in her own capacity, but is also representing Rachel's interests, complicates the prospect of dismissal on this basis, as it would not be fair to penalize Rachel based on her mother's fugitive status. We will deny the Montgomery County defendants' motion to dismiss the appeal.

III.

A.

The District Court held that it lacked jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. We exercise plenary review over the decision to grant the motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. FOCUS v. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, 75 F.3d 834, 839-40 (3d Cir.1996).

The Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars lower federal courts from exercising jurisdiction over a case that is the functional equivalent of an appeal from a state court judgment. Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413, 44 S.Ct. 149, 68 L.Ed. 362 (1923); District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 103 S.Ct. 1303, 75 L.Ed.2d 206 (1983). A case is the functional equivalent of an appeal from a state court judgment in two instances: (1) when the claim was actually litigated before the state court; or (2) when the claim is inextricably intertwined with the state adjudication. ITT Corporation v. Intelnet International Corporation, 366 F.3d 205, 210 (3d Cir.2004). As we recently noted, almost any claim...