Ninth Circuit Clears Path for Foster Youth Lawsuit Against Los Angeles County 

Munger, Tolles & Olson, together with Public Counsel, Alliance for Children’s Rights and Children’s Rights, secured a significant victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Ocean S. v. County of Los Angeles, a landmark civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of transition-age foster youth in Los Angeles County. In a May 15, 2026 decision, the Ninth Circuit cleared the way for the case to proceed in federal court, affirming the district court’s refusal to abstain from hearing plaintiffs’ claims.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of foster youth ages 16 to 21 who allege that Los Angeles County and California state agencies failed to provide safe housing, adequate mental health care and other legally required support services. Plaintiffs allege that systemic failures have left foster youth unhoused, without meaningful access to behavioral health services and vulnerable to further harm. The lawsuit seeks reforms aimed at improving housing access, case planning and trauma-responsive services for transition-age foster youth in Los Angeles County’s foster care system.

The County argued that the federal courts should abstain from hearing the case under Younger v. Harris. The Ninth Circuit rejected that argument, holding that California dependency proceedings concerning foster youth placement and well-being do not fall within the “exceptional category” of state proceedings warranting abstention. The Court explained that dependency proceedings are “designed not to prosecute a parent, but to protect the child” and emphasized that the proceedings at issue focus on “the child’s placement and well-being.”

“We hope the County and State will stop spending resources trying to evade accountability and start working toward real solutions — because with each passing day, young people in their care go unhoused and are denied the mental health services they need,” said MTO Partner Grant Davis-Denny.

The MTO team includes, Grant Davis-Denny, William Temko, Peter Gratzinger, Carl Jiang, Caleb Peffer and Andy Kim.