Ashley Humphrey, individually and as next friend of J.H., a minor v. Maury County Board of Education, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee denies Ashley Humphrey’s motion to proceed pro se on behalf of her minor son, concluding that Sixth Circuit precedent prohibits a parent from litigating a minor child’s personal claims without counsel. The court also denies an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction because the claims supporting it were not properly before the court and the alleged irreparable harm was speculative. The court states that claims brought on behalf of the minor will be dismissed without prejudice by separate order.

Holdings

1. A parent who is not an attorney may not appear pro se on behalf of a minor child because the child's personal cause of action belongs to the child and is not the parent's own claim. Plaintiff therefore could not litigate J.H.'s Rehabilitation Act, ADA, Section 1983, equal-protection, or related state-law claims without counsel.
2. The emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was properly denied because it depended on claims asserted on behalf of a party not properly before the court, Plaintiff had not shown a likelihood of success on those claims, and the alleged future injuries were speculative rather than certain and immediate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a nonlawyer parent may proceed pro se on behalf of her minor child's personal claims.
2. Whether Plaintiff was entitled to a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction based on alleged threats of school violence, truancy enforcement, and child-protective-services referrals.

Disposition

other