Child Custody • Federal Court Jurisdiction • Mootness

Hamilton v. Bromley, PICS Case No. 17-1191 (3Cir. July 10, 2017) Fisher, J. (15 pages).

District court erred in abstaining from jurisdiction under Younger doctrine by not first determining whether it had jurisdiction, but dismissal was proper where action was moot. Order of the trial court affirmed.

Harry Hamilton appealed from the district court's dismissal of his complaint for injunctive relief against appellees. Appellant's complaint arose from a child custody dispute between him and his ex-wife, Sherrilyn Washington, over their son, S.H. In November 2014, S.H. fled from Washington's home to Hamilton's, alleging that he had been abused by Washington. Hamilton was granted temporary custody, but Washington filed a petition for emergency custody. CYS investigated S.H.'s allegations, and concluded that the alleged incident did not meet the definition of child abuse. Because S.H. continued to assert that he did not feel safe with Washington, he accepted CYS' offer of moving into a group home.