Whittier : $13.5 Million Suit Rejected
A Norwalk Superior Court judge has ruled against a Whittier woman who sued Los Angeles County for $13.5 million for temporarily taking her children during an alleged child abuse investigation.
Elene Humlen claimed county social workers violated her family’s rights when they took her two children into protective custody a year ago after school officials spotted a bruise around her son’s eye. Humlen’s son Christopher, 10, and Jennifer, 2 1/2, were placed in foster homes while possible child abuse was investigated. Humlen was never charged and her children were returned to her a month later.
In her suit against the county, Humlen charged various county agencies with civil rights violations, negligence, false imprisonment and inflicting emotional stress. Judge Ralph A. Biggerstaff, however, dismissed the suit. Humlen filed the suit after her $13.5 million personal injury claim against the county was rejected. Humlen’s attorney has 30 days to appeal Biggerstaff’s decision.
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