Masha Allen's attorney withdraws from case
Robert N. Hunn, attorney for Masha Allen in the case against Families Thru International Adoption, inc. (FTIA), Reaching Out Thru International Adoption, inc. (ROTIA), Child Promise, inc. and Jeannene Smith has filed a motion to withdraw with the Federal District Court of New Jersey.
In September last year, a Civil Action Complaint was filed on behalf of Masha Allen against the adoption agencies and representatives responsible for her placement with Matthew Mancuso. The complaint revolves around alleged negligence of the involved agencies to properly vet Matthew Mancuso before placing Masha with him and the way Reaching Out Thru International Adoption handled the post placement reporting.
According to testimony before a Congressional Committee, Matthew Mancuso had fabricated a post placement evaluation in the name of Social Services of Western Pennsylvania (a non-existent organization) and a social worker of ROTIA had performed a post placement evaluation over the phone. In short, no one ever went to see Masha and verified how she was doing. As a consequence Masha Allen suffered years of sexual molestation at the hands of Matthew Mancuso and pornographic material of the abuse still circulates on the internet.
The Civil Action Complaint filed in September 2008, sought compensation from the agencies involved in the placement of Masha Allen.
Now attorney Robert N. Hunn of the law firm Kolsby, Gordon, Robin, Shore & Behar (KGRSB), who represents Masha in the civil litigation, has filed a motion to withdraw claiming there have arisen irreconcilable differences between KGRSB and Faith Allen. Last summer a Georgia attorney, David S. Bills, retained KGRSB on behalf of his clients Faith and Masha Allen. Attorney Bills, representing Faith, has asked Hunn not to withdraw as counsel for Masha. The New Jersey Federal District Court will conduct a hearing on Hunn’s motion on April 6, 2009.
This motion comes only weeks after Jeannene Smith (President of ROTIA) filed a motion to dismiss, which we reported about here.
The Civil Action Complaint against FTIA et al. is important because it relates to the responsibilities of those running an adoption agency. The outcome of this lawsuit could in principle answer the question if Presidents, excutive directors etc. can hide behind licenced social workers, or if they have a responsibility for the work performed under their supervision.
The withdrawl of Robert N. Hunn is a major set back for Masha Allen and her attempts to find compensation for the abuse she has suffered. It is unknown what further actions Masha and her representatives will take.
Although the motion to withdraw doesn't state what the irreconcilable differences were, it's hard to ignore the history of Masha Allen's placement with Faith Allen (previously known as Kimberly Murphy who then became Lynn Ginn and who now goes by the name of Liz Psalm). We already paid attention to that history in the posts: Masha Allen betrayed again and Omens: How Masha Allen became a supporting actress in the Faith Allen show.
Jeannene Smith in her motion to dismiss even goes so far as to claim the lawsuit filed by Faith Allen as plaintiff's guardian is not valid, alleging Faith Allen is no longer the legitimate and legal guardian of Masha.
In that light it's interesting to see Robert N. Hunn state an irreconcilable difference between KGRSB and David S. Bills and Faith Allen.
KGRSB trying to represent Masha, having a irreconcilable difference with Bills/Allen in my opinion can only mean there is a conflict of interest between Faith Allen and Masha Allen. This should come as no surprise. James Marsh, former representative of Masha, in his blog post Statement Regarding Masha Allen Litigation said:
“We are, however, deeply disturbed that Masha still does not have the independent guardian she so desperately needs. Two years ago today we learned that Masha was being abused and neglected by her current caretaker. She eventually became involved with the child welfare and public health systems in both Georgia and Pennsylvania. After consulting with independent ethics counsel and the State Bar of Georgia, we were instructed to retain Masha's litigation files and undertake efforts to have a guardian appointed for Masha due to an un-waivable conflict of interest between her and her caretaker.”
“A traumatized, abused and exploited child like Masha needs a competent and independent decision maker to protect her legal rights and guard her pecuniary well being. Since our firm is forever conflicted from representing Masha, our only desire is that she will someday obtain the emotional and financial stability she deserves. Unfortunately the current litigation does nothing to achieve the Georgia Bar's longstanding edict aimed at safeguarding Masha's future.”
It seems to me Robert N. Hunn, in his attempt to represent Masha ran exactly into the problems James Marsh stated: the absence of an independent guardian who can truly act in the interest of Masha. As long as there is a conflict of interest between Masha and Kimberly Murphy AKA Lynn Ginn AKA Faith Allen AKA Liz Psalm the betrayal of Masha will continue.