Immunity For Court-Appointed Guardian
The New Mexico Supreme Court held that a court-appointed guardian ad litem is immune from suit for actions related to the appointment
We hold that a Rule 1-053.3 guardian ad litem is protected by absolute quasi-judicial immunity from suit arising from the performance of his or her duties unless the guardian adl item’s alleged tortious conduct is clearly and completely outside the scope of his or her appointment. The custody court that appointed the guardian ad litem is the appropriate court to determine whether the guardian ad litem’s alleged misconduct arose from acts clearly and completely outside the scope of the appointment and, if so, the custody court should appoint a guardian ad litem, other than a parent, pursuant to Rule 1-017(C) NMRA to represent the child in any necessary litigation. A parent does not have standing to sue a guardian ad litem appointed in a custody proceeding on behalf of the child because (1) the parent has been found to be unable to act in the best interests of the child, and (2) such a lawsuit would create a conflict of interest in the custody case.
The father in the highly contentious custody litigation believedthatthe appointed guardian had sided with the mother. He filed bar complaints in addition tocivil litigation. (Mike Frisch)