Lawsuit: Bethanna Adoption Agency

Bethanna adoption agency  is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They place foster children.

“The plaintiffs in the suit, Shamayra Madison and Martin and Tracey Stewart, accuse the city’s Department of Human Services of failing to inform the plaintiffs that a boy the Stewarts were planning to adopt had a history of sexual abuse.

The child, who was 13 when the Stewarts adopted him following a period of foster parenting, ended up raping and molesting the Stewarts’ 2-year-old grandson.

The toddler is the son of plaintiff Madison.

The Stewarts adopted the young teen in late November 2009; the rape incident took place in late August 2010.

The teen remained in the Stewarts’ house until Nov. 10, 2010, when he was arrested and charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, indecent assault, indecent exposure and simple assault, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims that DHS and codefendant Bethanna Inc., which helped facilitate the adoption, knew or should have known that the teen had a history of sexual abuse and that his “psychological state made him a serious threat to victimize other children.”

The complaint accuses the defendants of withholding information regarding the teen’s history.

“Bethanna and DHS failed to disclose [the teen’s] history of sexual abuse and psychological state to the Stewarts with the intention of inducing them to adopt [the teen],” the lawsuit states.

The complaint claims the defendants’ conduct of concealing and misrepresenting the teen’s history of abuse was willful, reckless and wanton in nature.

The lawsuit contains counts of fraud, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligent failure to disclose, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil rights violations, specifically the plaintiffs Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The defense removal notice states that codefendant Bethanna Inc. also consents to remove the action to the U.S. District Court.

The state case ID number is 120204077.

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-01330.”

City petitions to have suit against DHS removed to federal court

[Penn Record 3/16/12 by Jon Campisi]

“A federal judge refused to dismiss claims that an adoption agency is liable for the rape of a 2-year-old boy because it failed to disclose the prior sexual abuse experienced by a teenager the infant’s family took in.   Martin and Tracey Stewart adopted their 13-year-old nephew Dalon Holmes in 2009. Before going through with the adoption, however, the Stewarts say they asked for confirmation that Holmes had never been sexually abused – circumstances they needed to know because several young children also lived with the Stewarts at the time. ”

“Holmes is allegedly a ward of Pennsylvania because the Stewarts relinquished custodial rights.  They filed suit against the Bethanna adoption agency and the city of Philadelphia, claiming that both entities knew and concealed the fact that Holmes had been molested by his mother and various unidentified males before Social Services took custody of him in 2007.”

“Bethanna and Philadelphia removed the complaint to federal court and then sought dismissal in March.  U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter dismissed several counts but said the case will still proceed.  Bethanna had claimed that Z.M. and his mother lacked standing “adoption agencies only owe a duty to adoptee children and the parties to the adoption under Pennsylvania Law,” according to the court.   But Buckwalter said “this characterization … misconstrues the law governing standing.”  Concluding that Madison and Z.M.’s claims are “fairly traceable to Bethanna’s conduct,” the judge said monetary relief could “alleviate some degree of their alleged injuries.”  The Stewarts have also met the bar at this stage to show claim Bethanna knew about Holmes’ history of sexual abuse.

“While the complaint may not contain detailed factual allegations related to these claims, notice pleading only requires a claimant to state a claim upon which relief can be granted by the court,” Buckwalter wrote.  The Stewarts can also advance claims of negligence, fraud, misrepresentation and emotional distress, according to the court.  But Bethanna and Philadelphia will not have to face negligence or emotional distress claims from Madison or Z.M, the judge found.  The plaintiffs can seek punitive damages for recklessness as well, according to the court.  “Plaintiffs aver that Bethanna intentionally misrepresented and ‘concealed’ Holmes’s prior history, despite knowing or being able to easily obtain such information and the Stewarts’s repeated requests for it,’ Buckwalter wrote. “Plaintiffs allege that this conduct was motivated by Bethanna’s self-interest in ‘inducing the Stewarts to proceed with the adoption of Dalon Holmes’ and ‘evidenced a deliberate and willful desire to further Bethanna’s own interest and objectives at the expense of the Stewarts,’ he added.

“While the evidence unearthed during discovery may ultimately lead to a different conclusion, if these allegations are ultimately determined to be true, they could support a claim of recklessness,” the decision concludes.”

Adoption Agency May Be Liable for Child’s Rape

[Courthouse News 6/8/12 by Erin McAuley]

Pennsylvania Find-a-case summary

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