Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington under 42 U.S.C. §1983, this federal civil rights lawsuit names multiple defendants in their individual and official capacities, including Judge Paul Thompson, Commissioner Jacalyn Brudvik, Judge Jennifer Langbehn, and the Snohomish County Superior Court itself.
The complaint alleges a coordinated pattern of extrinsic fraud, due process violations, retaliation, and abuse of judicial discretion. At the center of the case is the October 29, 2021 ex parte hearing, orchestrated by opposing counsel Damon Canfield and Guardian ad Litem Brian Parker—during which Gina Bloom’s children were abruptly removed from her custody without her presence, representation, or valid emergency justification.
Despite being in contact with Bloom that same day—and knowing she was at Seattle Children’s Hospital with her sick child—both Canfield and Parker falsely represented to Commissioner Brudvik that Bloom’s location was unknown and that the child was at risk. Based solely on their statements, Brudvik issued a temporary restraining order and full custody transfer to Bloom’s estranged husband, Brian Yorks, a man with an active history of domestic violence.
The lawsuit further details how Judge Thompson, despite being aware of prior misconduct complaints against GAL Parker (including one he personally dismissed as GAL Committee Chair), presided over trial proceedings that relied heavily on Parker’s unsubstantiated and later disproven claims. Dr. Monique Brown’s psychological evaluation, which concluded that Bloom was a fit parent and primary caregiver, was ignored and later misrepresented in court by Parker—whose testimony formed the basis for findings of mental instability.
The Court of Appeals has since reversed key parts of Thompson’s ruling, finding that his orders violated Bloom’s First Amendment rights and failed to apply mandatory domestic violence protections under RCW 26.09.191.
This case asserts that Bloom’s rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments were violated by officers of the court acting with deliberate indifference and under the color of state law, and seeks compensatory damages, injunctive relief, and systemic accountability for constitutional misconduct in Washington State’s family court system.