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ALICIA M. PEDREIRA; JOHANNA W.H. VAN WIJK-BOS;
ELWOOD STURTEVANT,*
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
SUNRISE CHILDREN’S SERVICES, INC., fka Kentucky
Baptist Homes for Children, Inc.,
Defendant-Appellant,
ERIC FRIEDLANDER, in his official capacity as the
Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family
Services; KERRY B. HARVEY, in his official capacity as
the Secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet,
Defendants-Appellees. |
No. 21-5857 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at Louisville.
No. 3:00-cv-00210—Charles R. Simpson III, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: August 22, 2023
Before: STRANCH, BUSH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. This is the fourth appeal in the case before this
court. We summarized the claim in the last appeal: “Kentucky taxpayers sued the State of
Kentucky and Sunrise Children’s Services, a religiously affiliated organization, alleging that
Kentucky violated the Establishment Clause by paying Sunrise for religious services that the
taxpayers allege Sunrise imposes on children in State custody.” Pedreira v. Sunrise Child.’s
Servs., Inc., 826 F. App’x 480, 482 (6th Cir. 2020). After proceedings resumed, the taxpayers
and Kentucky, without Sunrise, entered into a settlement agreement in which the taxpayers
agreed to dismiss the suit in exchange for Kentucky’s agreement to make certain changes to its
foster-care system, and jointly moved to dismiss the case with prejudice. The district court
granted the motion, dismissed the case, and refused to review the settlement agreement. Sunrise
appealed. We AFFIRM the decision below. |
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