#18, Drano Series
Is There a G.A.L. in Your Life?
A letter to a guardian ad litem, the president of the hospital, and the hospital's general counsel
My new client -- literally a house husband and the primary caregiver of twin sons from infancy through the age of five -- while being represented by prior counsel, had paid thousands of dollars to a guardian ad litem ["G.A.L."]. Her report had been, as thousands of others written by G.A.L.s in Massachusetts, deficient and discriminatory: In this case, the G.A.L. , who had been asked by the court to investigate whether mother should be allowed to remove the children to another state -- without ever inquiring about the mother's history, without even a sentence about it in the report, and without any investigation into where the children were to be taken -- recommended to the court that mom be allowed to remove them to the other state.
The G.A.L. had also left a phone message to my client that she wanted to meet with him again. Without some explanation to me about the purpose of another interview with my client at this juncture, I shall oppose the request. The woman is, in my opinion, odious.
I subpoenaed her to deposition.
She responded that she wanted an estimate of the number of hours she'd be at deposition so the hospital could send a bill to be paid in advance.
Keeping in mind my position that the Commonwealth should bear the cost of the G.A.L. and anyone else they appoint, I wrote her the following letter. I include it in the Drano series not only because it from an active case with issues relevant to this area of law, but it will show what YOU can do about your own G.A.L. situation.
Please note that I have disguised the names because the letter is not a publicly filed document.
Barbara C. Johnson
Attorney at Law
6 Appletree Lane
Andover, MA 01810-4102
978-474-0833 FAX 978-xxx-xxxx
email: barbaracjohnson@worldnet.att.net
12 January 2001
Boooooo O'ooooo Boooooooo FAX 617-000-0000
Law & Psychiatry Program
60 Staniford Street
Boston, MA 02114-2517Re: Your letter dated 1/9/01 but postmarked 1/10/01 P.M.
Jane Doe v. John Doe, Docket No. 99D-0000-DV1Dear Mrs. Boooooooo:
I do expect you at my home-office on Tuesday, 16 January 2001, by 10:00 A.M., as the subpoena served upon you requires.
My estimate of the number of hours it will take to depose you is not helpful -- 1 or 2 days -- because I do not know what type of witness you are, i.e., whether you are straightforward or evasive, or what type of lawyer will be with you, i.e., one whose objections are a paragraph or even a page long or one who makes merely one-word objections. With that said, I do have a lot of ground to cover in your deposition.
As to a retainer: The retainer is only appropriate if I were calling you as an expert witness. I am not calling you as an expert witness. I am calling you, in fact, to show that you are not an expert, to show that your report has serious deficencies, and to gather evidence to support, if not a motion to strike your report from the record, to impeach its credibility.
I refer you and your counsel to M.G.L. c. 215, sec. 56A. That section explicitly states that any cost for a G.A.L. is to borne by the Commonwealth. Therefore, if there is any bill to be sent, please have your billing office send it directly to the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Relying on the above-mentioned statute, I request that you forward to me a check made out to my client, John Doe, in the amount of the monies paid to you or the hospital by him or by someone acting on his behalf. The court erred in ordering the parties to share in the cost of a guardian ad litem.
Sincerely,
Barbara C. Johnson
cc: The president of the hospital
The general counsel of the hospitaldrano-footer
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Barbara C. Johnson, Attorney at Law
6 Appletree Lane, Andover, Massachusetts 01810-4102 Phone 978-474-0833