Hannah Boehm, et al. v. Timothy Daugherty, et al.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION Hannah Boehm, et al., Plaintiffs, Case No. 25-12988 v. Judith E. Levy United States District Judge Timothy Daugherty, et al., Mag. Judge Curtis Ivy, Jr. Defendants. ________________________________/ ORDER DENYING AS MOOT PLAINTIFFS’ EX PARTE PETITION APPOINTING NEXT FRIENDS FOR MINOR PLAINTIFFS [4] Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ ex parte petition to appoint Next Friends for the minor Plaintiffs pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c). (ECF No. 4.) Ten of the eleven Plaintiffs in this action are minors. (Id. at PageID.150.) Plaintiffs request that the Court appoint parents of the minor Plaintiffs as Next Friends. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c)(1)(A) provides that a “general guardian” may bring suit on behalf of a minor. Parents of minor children fall under the category of “general guardians.” In re Brooks, 583 B.R. 443, 444 (Bankr. W.D. Mich. 2018) (citing Cmtys. for Equity v. Mich. High Sch. Athletic Ass’n, 26 F.Supp.2d 1001, 1006 (W.D. Mich. 1998); Russick v. Hicks, 85 F. Supp. 281 (W.D. Mich. 1949)); see also Doe v. Shea, No. 23- 12797, 2023 WL 7993436 , at *1 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 17, 2023). As such, it is not necessary for the Court to appoint the minor Plaintiffs’ parents as their Next Friend for purposes of this suit because Rule 17(c)(1)(A) already permits them to bring suit on behalf of their minor children. For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiffs’ petition to appoint parents as the Next Friends of their children is DENIED AS MOOT. Dated: October 15, 2025 s/Judith E. Levy Ann Arbor, Michigan JUDITH E. LEVY United States District Judge CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court’s ECF System to their respective email or First Class U.S. mail addresses disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on October 15, 2025. s/William Barkholz WILLIAM BARKHOLZ Case Manager