Lawsuit alleges attorney's lies caused mother to lose custody of child

May 30—A Dunmore woman who alleges she lost custody of her child partly because she was taking medication to treat Lyme disease while breastfeeding filed a lawsuit against an attorney she claims lied and misrepresented facts to a judge.

Sarah A. Scotchlas claims Moosic attorney Brenda Kobal, who was appointed to represent the child's interest, conducted a biased and flawed investigation that led to Scotchlas being wrongly stripped of her rights to see the child since last April.

The lawsuit, filed by Scranton attorney Ryan Campbell in Lackawanna County Court, also criticizes the court's process for appointing attorneys to represent children in custody cases, who are known as a "guardian ad litem."

The suit alleges the system is ripe for abuse because the guardians, whose fees are typically paid by the parents, charge for as long as the case remains open, which incentivizes them to delay resolution. Kobal, it says, has taken advantage of that situation for the past 25 years "to her benefit and to the detriment of hundreds of parent-litigants."

In a statement issued Tuesday, Kobal and her law firm, Kobal and Frederickson, denied any wrongdoing. The statement says Kobal cannot comment further because the allegations relate to a custody case that has been sealed by the court.

"This baseless action is being brought by the plaintiff's counsel for improper purposes, and we intend to defend this action in court and seek remuneration for abuse of process at the end of the day," the statement says.

President Judge Trish Corbett, speaking through court administrator Frank Castellano, declined to comment on the allegations against the guardian ad litem program. Corbett noted she was recently assigned to the case, which previously was heard by Judge Julia Munley.

The lawsuit comes just over a decade after a state investigation into the county's guardian ad litem program uncovered multiple shortcomings. That probe was initiated based on complaints by parents that Danielle Ross, who previously served in the role, had too much power and made unreasonable demands.

The probe led to a criminal investigation of Ross, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to attempted tax evasion for failing to report all the income she earned from the program. In 2012, the state issued a report recommending the court system implement a number of changes, including tracking money that is paid to guardians.

In the Scotchlas lawsuit, Campbell says the court appears to have followed the recommendations, although he cites concerns over the county's continued "liberal" appointment of guardians in custody matters.

According to the suit, Kobal was appointed in October 2021 to the custody case between Scotchlas and the child's father, Gregory Lukasik, who were not married. Lukasik filed a custody petition in August 2021, when the child was about 5 months old. Attempts to reach Lukasik for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The suit says Scotchlas was prescribed antibiotics azithromycin and ceftriaxone to treat Lyme disease. The medications are designed to protect unborn babies from contracting the disease and her physician assured her they also posed no risk to breastfeeding the child.

Despite that, the suit says Kobal, without speaking to Scotchlas's physician, issued a report in November 2021 that said the medication could possibly harm the child. The report also cited Scotchlas's refusal to provide information on her own medical or psychological history, which Kobal said created an "imminent and irreparable" danger to the child.

Based on that report a judge granted Lukasik sole custody on Nov. 5, 2021. Police forcibly removed the child, who was crying and screaming, from Scotchlas's arms.

Over the next few months, Scotchlas consented to a drug test, which she says came back negative. Kobal misrepresented that information during a Nov. 19, 2021, conference with a judge and attorneys, saying the test came back "inconclusive," according to the suit.

Scotchlas also consented to a mental health evaluation with Dr. Richard Fischbein, who said he could not determine if she was bipolar or suffered from mixed personality disorder and recommended she continue treatment with her personal psychiatrist, the suit says.

The suit says there's no evidence that the child was ever harmed or that Scotchlas was a danger to her. Despite that, Kobal continued to misrepresent findings to the court, which caused Scotchlas to lose all contact with the child since April 30, 2022.

The suit names Kobal and her firm as defendants. It seeks damages on seven counts, including negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.