BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A federal judge won’t reconsider his dismissal of multiple defendants from a $40 million lawsuit filed by the biological mother of Orrin and Orson West, the…
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WHERE ARE THE BOYS: Judge denies motion to reconsider dismissal of defendants from $40M lawsuit
A federal judge won’t reconsider his dismissal of multiple defendants from a $40 million lawsuit filed by the biological mother of Orrin and Orson West, the two boys who went missing in 2020 and whose adoptive parents
were convicted of murder earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez denied a motion to reconsider his earlier ruling, according to court filings. He found attorneys for plaintiffs Ryan Dean and her mother, Dana Moorer, failed to show the motion was warranted.
“In their motion and supporting papers, plaintiffs fail to set forth any new facts to support their arguments,” Mendez wrote in a court filing. “Plaintiffs also repeated several arguments in this motion that were previously raised and rejected in their opposition to defendants’ motions to dismiss.”
Additionally, he said, they didn’t follow the court’s order instructing them to contact opposing counsel to discuss “the contemplated motion and any potential resolution” before filing.
The suit sought damages for alleged civil rights violations and wrongful death.
Earlier this year, Mendez determined it failed to substantiate any claim against Kim Johnson, director of the California Department of Social Services, the Kern County Department of Human Services, Dena Murphy, former KCDHS director and social worker Anna Zavala-Garza. He dismissed them from the suit.