Frank Foundation, World Child in 'Wrongful Adoption' Suit - Day One
Day One of a Maryland Trial About a Baby Adopted from Russia by
William L. Pierce, Ph.D.Publisher and Executive Editor,
Adoption/Medical News© 2002, All rights reserved Reader Comments
"I guess that's the crux of the matter. If information is known but not disclosed to the adopting parents, I'd rake the agency over the coals. If nobody is aware that the child has a disability, then parents need to realise a risk still exists."
JUROL
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It's every adoptive parent's nightmare. You go to an agency, one that is officially accredited to do adoptions from Russia and tell them you would like to adopt a healthy baby. You do everything you're supposed to, are never told that the baby's anything but normal. Then, a few weeks or months later you learn that the child you love and have bonded with has major problems, such as autism, "mild" mental retardation and seizures. The experts tell you your child will never be able to be independent.
So you sue the two agencies involved in the adoption, one of which is rumored to be the largest Russian adoption provider working in the U.S. And, after months of depositions, the case finally goes to court in what is known as a "wrongful adoption" lawsuit.
What happens next is that lawyers for both sides square off on the opening day, even before the jury is picked. And the allegations fly.
First off, if, as an adoptive parent, you sue, expect to see every aspect of your life under a microscope to see if you can be counter-sued. That's what the lawyers for the defendants, Frank Foundation and World Child, did today, March 11, the first day of what is expected to be a 10-day trial. The lawyers for the agencies filed a motion for summary judgment, saying that they had a case against the adoptive parents because allegedly the adoptive father had a mental health condition that would have disqualified him from adopting.
That motion failed, but the team of lawyers for the agencies, nine by my count not counting a lawyer for insurance companies observing the trial, filed several more. One was to dismiss the request for $5 million in punitive damages. Another was to disqualify the medical expert. Another was to disqualify the expert who is expected to estimate the costs of caring for the handicapped family member for the rest of his life. Another was to exclude the child from the courtroom, as the lawyer for Frank Foundation said: this case will involve a level of emotionalism given the fact that the child is autistic, has a seizure disorder and is mildly retarded. Another was to keep a video showing a day in the life of the child from the jury.
Perhaps most lawyerlike but chilling was the "contract argument" that since the agency had offered to let the parents "disrupt" and they chose not to, the contract provides that the adoptive parents are therefore fully responsible. The parents' attorney responded that children are not like cars or things one can just "take back," and that they had bonded with and love the child. The lawyer also said that a Maryland court has already dismissed the argument that if you don't like your child you can just have it adopted.
On the other hand, the two lawyers representing the parents were alleged to have failed to do what they should have done to enable the agencies' lawyers to mount a proper defense. In a series of "who-did-what-when" exchanges, the plaintiffs' team was accused of a history and pattern of delaying practices, failing to serve files, not getting their medical expert's files transferred for analysis by opposing counsel, sending their witness list at the last minute and not providing a copy of videos expected to be shown to the jury.
Day Two of Roger Miles et al v. World Child et al continues at 9:30 EST March 12 in Courtroom 17 at the Judicial Center at 50 Maryland Avenue, Rockville Maryland.
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Day TwoAdditional Reading•
Adopting Parents Center •
Adopting From Russia •
Adoption Headline News•
Adoption Fraud•
Adoption Medical Evaluations•
Wrongful Adoption and Agency Liability•
Lessons for Prospective Adoptive Parents
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