Almost two years after a federal lawsuit was filed to secure the civil legal justice demanded by Congress in 2006, Masha Allen's federal lawsuit was dismissed today--incredibly--for "failure to properly plead a basis for federal jurisdiction."
Despite the trenchant involvement of a reconstructed legal team consisting of much-sought after guardian ad litem Cambria County bankruptcy attorney Timothy J. Sloan (who replaced Masha's former mother Faith Allen as lead plaintiff), Georgia attorneys David S. Bills (who blogs anonymously about Masha's case at poundpuplegacy.org), William Q. Bird and Darren Summerville (who were originally hired by Faith Allen who reportedly now lives in Georgia), and Pennsylvania First Amendment attorney Thomas Vecchio (who replaced renowned Philadelphia attorney Robert N. Hunn who withdrew under protest last year), Masha "did not oppose (and consents to) dismissal [of the lawsuit] without prejudice on ground of lack of subject matter jurisdiction."
Masha, who turns 18 in August, vowed to fight on by "pursuing the claim outlined in the Amended Complaint in an alternative forum." No word yet on where her case is headed, if anywhere.
Despite the involvement of no less than 27 attorneys in the last 7 years, justice remains elusive for one of the most notorious victims of child trafficking in recent history.
Order to Show Cause
Letter Consenting to Dismissal
Despite the trenchant involvement of a reconstructed legal team consisting of much-sought after guardian ad litem Cambria County bankruptcy attorney Timothy J. Sloan (who replaced Masha's former mother Faith Allen as lead plaintiff), Georgia attorneys David S. Bills (who blogs anonymously about Masha's case at poundpuplegacy.org), William Q. Bird and Darren Summerville (who were originally hired by Faith Allen who reportedly now lives in Georgia), and Pennsylvania First Amendment attorney Thomas Vecchio (who replaced renowned Philadelphia attorney Robert N. Hunn who withdrew under protest last year), Masha "did not oppose (and consents to) dismissal [of the lawsuit] without prejudice on ground of lack of subject matter jurisdiction."
Masha, who turns 18 in August, vowed to fight on by "pursuing the claim outlined in the Amended Complaint in an alternative forum." No word yet on where her case is headed, if anywhere.
Despite the involvement of no less than 27 attorneys in the last 7 years, justice remains elusive for one of the most notorious victims of child trafficking in recent history.
Order to Show Cause
Letter Consenting to Dismissal
Now that the federal case is over, so is Mr. Sloan's authorization to act as Masha's next friend; he was appointed by the federal judge as next friend for the federal case only. Now that the federal case is gone, so is Mr. Sloan's status as Masha's next friend. This poses an interesting question: with no legal parent and no guardian, who is guiding Masha's litigation and controlling her legal team? Cambria County? The Georgia attorneys hired by Faith?
As far back as 2006, we were asking for an independent court appointed guardian of Masha's estate, first in Georgia then in Pennsylvania. This is the primary reason Faith fired us. Four years later Masha remains a minor without proper legal representation and no one to look out for her best interests. A true failing of our legal system.