1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 SAN JOSE DIVISION 6 7 SIERRA GRANADOS, Case No. 22-cv-01116-BLF

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING PETITION FOR 9 v. ORDER APPROVING MINOR’S COMPROMISE 10 CITY OF GILROY POLICE DEPARTMENT, [Re: ECF No. 16] 11 Defendant. 12 13 Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Petition for Order Approving Minor’s Compromise. See 14 Pet., ECF No. 16. Defendant does not oppose Plaintiff’s petition. See ECF No. 17. The petition 15 is GRANTED for the reasons discussed herein. 16 Plaintiff Sierra Granados, individually and as Guardian ad Litem for minor E.C., filed this 17 action against the City of Gilroy Police Department. See Compl., ECF No. 1. Plaintiffs allege 18 federal civil rights and state law claims arising from a dog bite inflicted by a police canine. Id., 19 Ex. A ¶ 1. Defendants removed the action to federal court on February 23, 2022. See id at 2. 20 “District courts have a special duty, derived from Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c), to 21 safeguard the interests of litigants who are minors.” Robidoux v. Rosengren,

, 1181 22 (9th Cir. 2011). “In the context of proposed settlements in suits involving minor plaintiffs, this 23 special duty requires a district court to conduct its own inquiry to determine whether the 24 settlement serves the best interests of the minor.”

(quotation marks and citation omitted). The 25 district court’s inquiry is limited to considering “whether the net recovery of each minor plaintiff 26 is fair and reasonable, without regard to the amount received by adult co-plaintiffs and what they 27 have agreed to pay plaintiffs’ counsel.”

. Upon concluding that a minor’s net recovery 1 deposited into a blocked account for the minor’s benefit. See, e.g. Lily v. Cooper, No. 19-cv-745- 2 DMS (AGS),

, at *4 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 25, 2020) (“Counsel shall, within 45 days 3 after approval of the minors’ compromise, file with the Clerk of Court proof of deposit of funds 4 payable for the minors’ benefit into blocked accounts as required by this Order.”); Estate of 5 Sauceda v. City of N. Las Vegas, No. 2:11-cv-02116-GMN-NJK,

, at *1 (D. 6 Nev. Apr. 30, 2020) (approving minor’s compromise and ordering that funds “shall be deposited 7 into a blocked trust account with proof of such deposit provided to the Court within 60 days of this 8 Order”); S.V. by & through Valencia v. Delano Union Elementary Sch. Dist., No. 1:17-cv-00780- 9 LJO-JLT,

, at *3 (E.D. Cal. June 27, 2019), report and recommendation 10 adopted, No. 1:17-cv-00780-LJO-JLT,

(E.D. Cal. July 19, 2019) (“The money 11 will be deposited in a blocked account for the child’s benefit.”). 12 Here, Defendants have agreed to settle with Plaintiffs all claims for $175,000.00. Pet. ¶ 5. 13 Plaintiffs’ petition proposes that the $175,000.00 be distributed as follows: 14 1. $90,589.95 to minor E.C. See Pet., Ex. 2. 15 2. $28,558.35 to Plaintiff and Petitioner Sarah Granados. See

16 3. $34,410,05 to counsel for minor E.C. in attorney’s fees and costs. See

17 4. $21,411.65 to counsel for Sarah Granados in attorney’s fees and costs. See

18 The Court has determined that the proposed distribution is “fair and reasonable” to the 19 Plaintiffs as required under Robidoux,

. 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 1 ORDER 2 (1) The Petition for Order Approving Minor’s Compromise (ECF No. 16) is GRANTED. 3 The Court APPROVES the settlement of the claims of minor E.C. against all Defendants, as 4 || compromised pursuant to the terms of the settlement reached among the parties, and as further 5 described in the petition and this order. 6 (2) The Court APPROVES the distribution of attorneys’ fees and costs to Plaintiffs’ 7 counsel as set forth in the petition (ECF No. 16). 8 (3) $90,589.95 SHALL be invested in a single-premium deferred annuity, and upon E.C. 9 || reaching the age of majority on March 27, 2037, monthly payments to him shall be made in the 10 amount of $1500 for seven years, and thereafter a single lump sum payment of the remainder of 11 the annuity shall be made as set forth in the Settlement Agreement. 12

IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 15 Dated: December 7, 2022

BETH LABSON FREEMAN 17 United States District Judge 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28