Malhan v. Secretary U.S. Dep’t of State—civil—partial reversal—Hardiman

Two big Third Circuit Rooker-Feldman opinions in less than a week is either a nightmare or pinch-me-I’m-dreaming, depending on your civpro-nerdiness quotient. On the heels of last week’s epic Rooker-Feldman opinion in Weber v. McGrogan, today the court ruled that a man’s federal suit challenging his child-support payments was free to proceed despite an interlocutory state-family-court order that made findings against him. The opinion synthesizes tricky Supreme Court and Third Circuit Rooker-Feldman precedent quite impressively. Younger abstention, too.

Joining Hardiman were Chagares and Goldberg EDPA by designation. Arguing counsel were Paul Clark of Jersey City, New Jersey for the father and Ragner Jaeger of the New Jersey attorney general’s office for the defendants.