The lawsuit stems from the death of Noah Cuatro. His great-grandmother, Evangelina Hernandez, brought the case in July 2020 on behalf of herself and the Noah’s minor siblings, a sister and two brothers. In court papers filed this week, attorneys for the county state that the question of whether the minor plaintiffs have the right to bring the suit is unresolved.
“Thus, importantly, plaintiffs will have standing … only if both their parents, also the surviving parents of the deceased sibling, are determined to have acted intentionally and feloniously and are thus divested of their intestate rights,” the county lawyers maintain in their court papers.
The county also has not yet received all documents in its petitions for the records of the minor plaintiffs, hampering the ability to mount a full defense, according to the county attorneys’ court papers. The expedited trial motion should be denied or delayed until the plaintiffs’ lawyers establish the that Noah’s siblings have standing to pursue their wrongful death and survival claims, the county lawyers further argue in their court papers.
In court papers filed May 17, lawyers for the plaintiffs say the case should go to trial in early 2023 for the benefit of Noah’s siblings, who are ages 2, 4 and 9. The attorneys state in their court papers that the Code of Civil Procedure gives trial preference to any litigant in a personal injury or wrongful death case who is under 14 years old unless the court finds that the party “does not have a substantial interest in the case as a whole.”
As time passes, it will be difficult for the young siblings to recall events, the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ court papers additionally state.
“Equally important, plaintiffs’ level of traumatization is more likely to be exacerbated by a looming trial date far off in the future, which can cause them a greater amount of triggers and trauma as they are kept stuck in the period of time of abuse and murder of their brother without the ability to begin to move forward and cope,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys argue in their court papers.
The state Probate Code states that anyone who “feloniously and intentionally” kills someone is not entitled to any property of the slain person, but only a final judgment of conviction is conclusive in such cases, the county lawyers state in their court papers.
Noah’s parents, Jose Maria Cuatro Jr. and Ursula Elaine Juarez, were ages 28 and 26, respectively, when the lawsuit was filed and are still awaiting trial in their criminal case. They were indicted in January 2020 on one count each of murder and torture in their son’s death. The indictment also charges the boy’s father with one count each of assault on a child causing death and sexual penetration of a child under 10, with the indictment alleging that the latter crime occurred on the same day the boy was attacked.
The boy’s mother was additionally charged with one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause death. If either of Noah’s parents were found to have not intended to kill Noah, that parent would be the exclusive person with standing to pursue a wrongful death cause of action, the county lawyers state in their court papers. If there has not been a final judgment of conviction, a judge may instead determine by a preponderance of evidence whether the killing was felonious and intentional and the burden of proof is on the party asserting such a claim, according to the county attorneys’ court papers.
A hearing on the trial preference motion is scheduled June 14.
Noah’s parents reported a drowning in their family pool in the 1200 block of East Avenue S around 4 p.m. July 5, 2019, but the Noah’s injuries later raised suspicions about how he died. Medical staff found the trauma he had suffered inconsistent with drowning. Noah was taken first to Palmdale Regional Medical Center and then to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where he was pronounced dead July 6, 2019. Noah’s death occurred after multiple reports of abuse had already been made to the county Department of Children and Family Services, according to the suit.
“Instead of protecting Noah and his siblings, DCFS continued to place the children with their abusive parents, where the children continued to be abused over the course of several years,” the lawsuit alleges.
After Noah’s death, DCFS social workers made threats against Hernandez “in an attempt to silence her,” the suit alleges. They told Hernandez that if she made any public statements about Noah’s case and/or potential lawsuits, she would lose her request for guardianship of her other three great- grandchildren and would never see them again, the suit states.
Previous related stories:
Relatives of slain Palmdale boy seek speedy trial of case against LA County
Relative files lawsuit over death of 4-year-old Palmdale boy
New details reveal how two social workers fought, but failed, to save 4-year-old Noah Cuatro
Parents of Noah Cuatro charged with murder, torture
Controversy over Palmdale boy’s death intensifies at L.A. County child welfare meeting
Report clears DCFS of wrongdoing in suspicious death of 4-year-old Palmdale boy
Relative files damages claim over death of 4-year-old Palmdale boy
Authorities ordered Palmdale child removed from home weeks before death
Investigation launched into 4-year-old Palmdale boy’s death
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ACE says
THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO EXPRESS MYSELF…
I AM ALSO YELLING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS IN WARNING…
LIKE WHEN I SPENT MONTHS OF DAILY SITTING IN FRONT OF THE COURT HOUSE, ANTONOVICH’S OFFICE AND AT THE CORNER NEAR THE PALMDALE MALL…
WITH POSTERS…
YELLING WITH MY POWERFUL ELECTRIC MEGAPHONE MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS TO PASSERSBY IN THEIR CARS…
ABOUT THIS DCFS ABUSE AND NEGLECT…
SO MANY SHOCKING AND HARMFUL THINGS GOING ON THAT ARE SEEMINGLY IGNORED BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC…
***
I AM NOW UNDER THE CARE OF AN INSTRUCTOR FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH VISION LOSS FROM THE DAYLE MCINTOSH CENTER WHO IS ALSO BRINGING ME A WHITE CANE TO ASSIST MY WALKING…
BEING 75 AND PARTIALLY BLIND MAKES IT EASIER TO TRIP AND FALL SAYS MY INSTRUCTOR DONELDA DANSBY…
I DO SO WANT TO STAY OUT OF THE HOSPITAL AND INJURIES TAKE WAY LONGER TO HEAL WITH AGE…
***
CAN’T BE TO CAREFUL..!
CAN’T SEE NOW TO DRIVE ANYMORE…
GAVE UP MY CA STATE PI HANDGUN PERMIT TOO…
Tim Scott says
PI handgun permit…
Holy cow, it’s Ace Ventura!!! Haven’t seen you posting in years!
Ace used to send me the craziest stuff in my e-mail! I was on his mass mail list, and I would answer by hitting ‘reply all’ when I pointed out that he was a nut. I actually ended up bidding jobs for some people I ‘met’ through our common position as Ace’s ‘enemies of the state.’
Good luck with your vision Ace, and with the adjustments you are making.
ACE says
THE LA COUNTY SECRET TRIALS CHILDREN’S COURTS ARE CLOSED TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN…
THE JUDGES, COMMISSIONERS, LAWYERS AND THE LA COUNTY SHERIFFS BAILIFFS THAT I HAVE SEEN GOING TO CHILDRENS COURT WITH MY DAUGHTER FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS…
ARE ALL LOSERS UNABLE TO CUT IT IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR…
THE LAWYERS ARE FRESH OUT OF SOME INFERIOR LAW SCHOOL AND COULDN’T FIND POSITIONS WITH ANY LARGE LAW FIRMS…
AND ARE TOO STUPID AND LAZY TO EVER SUCCEED IN PRIVATE PRACTICE…
THE SHERIFFS BAILIFFS AT THE CHILDRENS COURTS ARE THE ONES NO ONE ON THE FORCE WOULD EVER WANT TO PARTNER WITH…
SHORT AND FAT WIMPY MALES WHO COULDN’T FIGHT THEIR WAY OUT OF A PAPER BAG…
AND SHORT FAT WOMEN…
MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CHILDRENS COURT WAITING ROOMS WERE NEWLY ARRIVED MEXICAN FAMILIES WHO FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THEIR DIRE PERIL OR THEIR LEGAL RIGHTS…
OR THAT IN THE MINDS OF THESE MORON BUREAUCRATS, ANY FORM OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IS CHILD ABUSE EVEN SPANKING FOR THE WORST MISBEHAVIOR…
DCFS L.A. COUNTY APPROVED PUNISH IS TEN MINUTES OF TIME OUT FOR EVERY YEAR OLD THE CHILD IS…
***
THEY TAKE AWAY CUTE LITTLE KIDS AND GIVE THEM TO BARELY VETTED LOVELESS STRANGERS WHO RAISE THEM FOR COUNTY FUNDS OF OVER A THOUSAND A PIECE PER MONTH …
I HAVE SEEN MANY COME OUT CRYING TO SAY THEIR FINAL GOODBYES TO THEIR FOLKS HOLDING THE CHEAPO STUFFED ANIMALS TO JUDGES HAND THEM…
I HAVE SUBMITTED PHOTOS TO THE SUPERVISORS OF HOW THE POOR LITTLE KIDS HAVE THROWN THE STUFFED ANIMALS ON THE LOWER ROOF OF THE COURT HOUSE…
IT’S A HUGE DISGRACE…
ABOLISH IT NOW…
FIRE THEM ALL…
THE DIRTY BASTARDS..!
ACE says
THANKS FOR THE KIND SUPPORT…
CAPS ARE EASIER TO TYPE, SEE AND READ SINCE I AM GOING BLIND, THANKS FOR MORE KIND ADVISE…
***
THE DCFS WAS CREATED TO ALLOW SOCIAL WORKERS TO TAKE AWAY CHILD ABUSE ENFORCEMENT FROM THE COPS…
THREE THOUSANDS OF THEM NOW…
THEY ARE NOT SOCIAL WORKERS WHEN THEY ARE HIRED BUT RECEIVE TRAINING DURING THEIR EMPLOYMENT WITH THE COUNTY…
FIRE THEM ALL…
LET OUR BRAVE COPS RETURN TO DEALING WITH SUCH LOW LIFE CREEPS AND VILLAINS…
THEY DID A BETTER JOB…
***
THE DCFS IS ALL ABOUT HIRING MORE WORTHLESS BUMS AND OTHERWISE UNEMPLOYABLE IDIOTS AS COUNTY WORKERS…
THE SEIU PROTECTS THEM WELL…
THEIR MADE UP CHILDREN’S COURTS ARE BOGUS TOO…
NO DUE PROCESS – NOTHING SWORN OR SIGNED UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY…
LYING, FORGERY AND EVIDENCE TAMPERING BY DCFS WORKERS AND LAWYERS ARE COMMON AND UNPOLICED…
TROUBLESOME OR DEPRESSED WARDS ARE FORCED TO TAKE POWERFUL FOR ADULT USE ONLY PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS…
WHILE BARGER REMAINS SILENT AND APPROVING…
ANY CRITICISM IS MET WITH DEMANDS FROM THEM TO HIRE MORE LOSERS…
FIRE THEM ALL..!
Tim Scott says
Evidence on this “cops did a better job” claim?
Let alone on calling them “brave.”
Stinger says
Agreed on the first sentence, and tough to argue the second with current events in mind…
America's Most Handwrites in Caps says
ACE:
UNDERSTAND. YOU KEEP USING CAPS AND WHATEVER MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE.
WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR INTERESTING POSTS.
Stinger says
Dunno if I would agree with you on the law enforcement doing better on this subject area. Quite frankly, having a specialized department to handle the bulk of the investigations and case management is , objectively, a prudent decision for our government to make. Also, the SEIU does not have nearly as much control over individual employee issues so much as group representation. Finally, firing them all would leave a ‘throwing out the baby with the bathwater’ situation with no institutional memory.
Okay. That’s all the points of contention I have on your post… As for the rest of it… I have personally found the rest of your claims to be fairly accurate.
Their kangaroo courts are unconstitutional and use fear and force to project their will upon the innocent, along with the guilty. Their operations are extralegal in format and make a mockery of the US Constitution AND the REAL judiciary for allowing it to continue. Absorption of those ‘courts’ into the real judiciary, with subsequent requirements of actually following the laws of the land in their procedures and decisions.
First step; one small change in the law: NO MORE anonymous reporting! Sure, the reporting party’s information is kept confidential, like in any other criminal investigation, but the reporting party is KNOWN and can be held to witness in court. If a report is found to be intentionally falsified, it is a crime and punishable just like filing any other false police report.
*As for your waning sight, it is possible to increase the size of everything on your screen so you won’t need the all caps. As we are on a website, you can use your Google settings in the upper right hand corner of the browser to increase the magnification factor. Cheers!
ACE says
ABOLISH THE CORRUPT AND EVIL SEIU UNIONIZED LA COUNTY, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES…
STOP THEM FROM HURTING LITTLE KIDS AND DESTROYING FAMILIES…
VOTE OUT SUPERVISOR BARGER..!
Stinger says
Sooo… it’s the union’s fault? No – the County Supervisor’s fault?
Try turning off the caps lock in your head and try to reason out just what you are trying to say, then try again without the caps lock on the computer, as well.