Yaroslav Chub, et al. v. Home Depot USA Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE YAROSLAV CHUB, et al., CASE NO. C25-5192-KKE Plaintiff(s), ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFFS TO RE- v. FILE DECLARATION OF TATIANA CHUB HOME DEPOT USA INC., Defendant(s).

On December 8, 2025, Plaintiffs filed a motion to approve a proposed settlement of the claims by the minor Plaintiffs, V.C. 1, K.C., A.C., and V.C. 2. Dkt. No. 24. Plaintiffs also filed two declarations in support of the motion. Dkt. Nos. 25, 26. However, while one of the declarations is titled “Declaration of Tatiana Chub” (Dkt. No. 25), the document itself is a duplicate of the other declaration, which is by Plaintiff’s counsel, Todd Huegli (Dkt. No. 26). It appears that the incorrect document was uploaded to CM/ECF by mistake.

Tatiana Chub’s declaration may be necessary to determine whether Ms. Chub has been “previously appointed” a “general guardian” for the minor Plaintiffs, as required by Local Civil Rule 17(c) before the Court may approve a minor’s settlement without first appointing a guardian ad litem to prepare a recommendation with respect to the settlement. See Cooper v. Woodland Sch. Dist., No. 3:22-CV-05262-DGE, 2022 WL 6802299, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 1, 2022) (denying request to waive guardian ad litem requirement where Plaintiffs had not contended “that a ‘general’ guardian” was appointed “although presumably the parents [were] the minor’s present guardians”). In addition, Ms. Chub’s declaration may assist the Court in executing its “special duty” to “conduct its own inquiry to determine whether the settlement serves the best interests of the minor.” Robidoux v. Rosengren, 638 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir. 2011).

5 To ensure the Court has a complete record on which to resolve Plaintiffs’ motion, Plaintiffs are DIRECTED to re-file a corrected version of the Declaration of Tatiana Chub by January 21, 2026.

8 The Clerk is directed to re-note Plaintiffs’ Motion for Approval of Minors’ Settlement (Dkt. No. 24) to January 21, 2026.

10 Dated this 14th day of January, 2026.

A Kymberly K. Evanson 13 United S tates District Judge