A Webb City lawyer made "false representations" to the court and to his client in a child custody case over a period of several years, according to a malpractice lawsuit filed Thursday in Jasper County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit was filed by Susan Dillard with Attorney Bradley R. Barton and his firm Pennick Barton LLC are listed as defendants. Dillard is represented by Laurence D. Mass, St. Louis and Nicholas C. Lunnen, Springfield.
According to the petition, Dillard and her husband, Webb City doctor Wayland H. Dillard divorced in 2007 with Dr. Dillard receiving custody of three children.
For the next eight years, she was allowed to see her children, but Dr. Dillard cut off her access in 2015.
For the past eight years, Barton has represented Dillard as she attempted to be allowed to visit her children. Even after Dr. Dillard died in 2020, she was kept from the children, with guardianship being held by their stepmother, the petition said.
After Barton filed a motion for modification of the custody agreement to allow access to Dillard, the lawyer for Dr. Dillard and his wife, filed motions to terminate Dillard's parental rights and allow the stepmother to adopt the children.
On November 21, 2018, the court issued an order denying Dillard visitation on an interim basis. pending trial.
After a judge heard evidence on January 14-16, 2019, ordered the parental rights of Susan Dillard to be terminated and allowed the stepmother to adopt one of the children. The adoption of another was denied, bur the stepmother was granted legal guardianship, according to the petition.From the petition:
Barton stated to the Circuit Court that Plaintiff agreed to the guardianship. Plaintiff never agreed to guardianship of {a child} by Father and Stepmother.
Plaintiff continually contested the Guardianship of {the child} On July 15, 2020, the trial court
found in favor of Plaintiff and granted her motion for therapeutic visitation. Attorney Barton was instructed by the Circuit Court to draft and submit an order for therapeutic visitation.
On or about July 29, 2020, Father died from cancer leaving Sherry Dillard the lone guardian of {the child}.
Plaintiff asked Barton what she could do after Father’s death. Barton stated, “Nothing. She [Stepmother] gets guardianship because was co-guardian with [Father].
Plaintiff was never informed by Barton that she could have opposed guardianship after Father’s
death.
Between July 15, 2020 and April 2022, Barton made no filings in the guardianship case on Plaintiff’s behalf.
Barton claimed that he couldn’t come to an agreement with the Guardian ad Litem and opposing counsel as to the substance of the therapeutic visitation order; and that he couldn’t contact the opposing counsel to obtain an order signed approved as to form. Therefore, Barton never filed the order for therapeutic visitation between July 15, 2020 and April 2022.
On April 25, 2022, almost two years from the time the Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for therapeutic visitation, Barton filed a proposed order for therapeutic visitation, which could have been filed within a few days of the probate court’s July 15, 2020 order.
The Circuit Court ultimately set aside the order for therapeutic visitation due to the passage of time.
Barton by his own written admission stated, “I should have sought relief from the court much sooner that I did.”
Between 2020 and 2024, Barton repeatedly told Plaintiff and her brothers that the Court has “refused to sign the order” and that Barton has no idea why; that he “just needs to get in front of the judge” to have him sign the order, that “the judge is lazy”; that “the other two attorneys do not agree with you on who was chosen to oversee the visitation and therefore refused to agree to the visitation plan."
Barton repeatedly told Plaintiff that he “placed the visitation plan in the judge’s box for him to sign;' and also told Plaintiff “I am putting in a motion to terminate [stepmother’s] guardianship, they dragged this on long enough, you deserve your daughter, you’ve done nothing wrong."
None of these statements were true.
Plaintiff repeatedly emailed Barton about the July 15, 2020 order, scheduled many phone calls with him to discuss that order, some of which included her brothers who live in the State of Pennsylvania, and also had in person meetings with Barton regarding the same.
Between 2022 and 2024, Plaintiff’s efforts to obtain therapeutic visitation were set back by continuances and the like, finally culminating in an evidentiary hearing set for October 25, 2024 on Plaintiff’s motion for therapeutic visitation, over four (4) years from the time the Court originally granted Plaintiff’s motion for therapeutic visitation with
32. In May 2024 Barton told Plaintiff he would file a motion to terminate the Stepmother’s guardianship of {the child} but he never did.
Dillard is asking for damages in excess of $25,000, costs and expenses and is demanding a jury trial.
31 comments:
The only reason she is trying to get custody is bc of the money she thinks she will get for the care of the adult (disabled) child.
1:20 irregardless, she still had been approved for a therapeutic visitation, which should have been set up by her attorney.
This was like her 4th or 5th attorney. Why do they keep firing her? Do the math. At the time of adoption, the kids were old enough to choose. There must be a reason her adult children do not want contact with her.
Agree
It appears she had a relationship with all three children until the 3rd wife stepped into the pic in 2015.
But let’s focus on the attorney who did not fulfill his obligations to his client with honesty and integrity for now.
If you desire to go search, look up Missouri Appellate Court of appeals and see what these courts did; it is ALL open to the public.
Susan Dillard hated and still hates Heath Dillard more than she loves her children. She’s a liar. His children have thrived because of him and his wife, not because of anything Susan has done for them. Look up “Mommy Dearest” in the dictionary and it has a photo of Susan Dillard. Look on Casenet and read the real story. She was a terrible mother and a horrible person. Unfortunately she wants to exhaust the entire estate of her ex husband with legal fees which only impedes the ability for his middle child to survive in a wonderful home. She is severely autistic and because of Heath’s commitment to his children, their children have thrived. Because of Susan, she has no relationship with them. This story was poorly written, based on zero facts. I wouldn’t allow Susan Dillard to babysit my dog, let alone have custody of my children. She needs to get a life and leave this family alone. She caused her chaos, not her 4th, 5th or however many attorneys have had to deal with that psychopath.
Looks like she only had Barton and fired him. And then had to replace him. The other 2 attorneys are the malpractice attorneys. Doesn’t look like she was fired by any attorneys.
It sounds like step-mom wants her for the money. The mom wants her child. Step mom probably over stepping her bounds. The courts are corrupt
Yes, this is the point of the lawsuit.
Well then you can’t read casenet very well.
Years ago, for the father to ever be given full custody, the mother would have had to kill someone and been convicted before the Judges would have ever given any fathers full custody or there rights. Because Judges thought women could give children more nourishing than fathers could, which was just plain hogwash.
Then even with full custody, fathers would only ever get the Children every other Wednesday and alternating weekends and every other holiday - Add that up was that fair of course not! So, fathers would only get 3 out of every 14 days of true visitation with their children. With 69% to 70% of women initiating the divorces - Then the fathers would have to pay Child Support and sometimes Alimony and give up 50% or more of their Hard-Earned and Worked for Assets - WAS THIS FAIR - NO - HELL NO! Ladies if you want to be - Fair and Independent - True 50/50 - Joint Custody of where the Children reside and live with both Parents 50% of the Time - NO CHILD SUPPORT - ONLY GENERAL EXPENSES ARE SPLIT, INCLUDING, MEDICAL, DENTAL, ETC., - NO ALIMONY - You want to be EQUAL, you want your INDEPENDENCE - FINE - You pay your Bills, the Father pays his Bills, and you both share and provide equal time and general expenses for your Children - TIME TO START BEING FAIR - True 50/50 - Divorces and Child Custody - where both parents share equal time in being with and raising the children - - FATHER'S / GRANDPARENT'S RIGHTS - TRUE JOINT CUSTODY - Because the Children Deserve to have both Parents in their Lives - - Which means Judges and LOW LIFE ATTORNEYS - DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE CHILDREN - NOT YOUR DAMN POCKET BOOKS!
It's this nutjob sh*tgibbon again. Polluting the comments with RWNJ rants one reads.
My son used to go to school with one of these children. The only person I ever seen at school was the step-mother. She seemed to have the best interest of the child at heart. I never seen her mother OR her father.
Wrong. There was a divorce, a modification, a 3rd modification; a guardianship, and an adoption. There are some cases you can't see on Casenet to get the full picture.
WRong
Same.
If you had 50 methed up monkeys breathing gorilla glue fumes how long would it take them to equal the 'excellence' of 7:50 AM's comment?
Hey 11:11AM, every go through a divorce, do nothing wrong, yet could only see you kids 3-4 times every 2-weeks, while paying child support and alimony. If not sit down and shut your F-ING LEFTIST LIBERAL, WOKE, DEI, CRT, PRONOUN SHAMING MOUTH -
Look at the timeline on casenet. It appears this woman has used the court system to harass these people. If she wanted her children then why didnt she pursue therapeutic visitation when it was ordered? Surely no one believes any mother would wait two years to push for this. Seems as though she doesnt want to take responsibility for her own actions and whe wants to place blame on the lawyer and the step mother. Sad.
The step mom has had this child and cared for her for years. Bio mom hasn't seen any of her children since 2015 by her own choice. She can use the legal system to harass that family but anyone who has been around any of them knows tha this bio mom wants control and to harass people more than she wants a relationship with her bio kids.
Same... most people at the school thought stepmom was bio mom.
Approved for but disappeared... again
Can't imagine why the judge didn't award you much more than the minimum...
2015 was just the last time she decided she didnt want them.. she had been in and mostly out of their lives since they were very small.
Susan Dillard is an evil person, none of her 3 kids will even say she’s the mom. She neglected all of them for her own personal desires. Was never a true mom and didn’t care about any of them. She’s only after the one now for the money. She’s so evil she will probably lock her in a room and spend the money on her own personal things, neglecting the kids all over again. She needs to leave the family alone and rot. What’s best for the child is to stay where she is. A real mother doesn’t have to give birth to you, just be there for you for the good times and the bad, and Susan wasn’t around for either.
5:10 exactly. Why would a judge award any time, to have a child subjected, to the oh so smart one, whose narcissistic behavior flows so freely.
For all the Idiots out there, that do not understand Joint Custody or have never been through a Divorce - Just Shut Your Pie-Hole, most Fathers always got the short end of the stick, besides paying Child Support, Alimony, and having to only see your Children Partially - is what the Courts, Judges, and Attorneys did to Good Fathers -
In Missouri, standard (or "reasonable") visitation for a non-custodial parent typically includes alternating weekends, one weeknight a week, (that is 4-Days out of every 2-weeks), alternating holidays, and extended summer breaks. The exact schedule is outlined in the court-approved Parenting Plan, which aims to promote frequent and meaningful contact with the child. This had been the standard practice for decades, completely in-human to have treated Fathers as second-class citizens and deprive Children of their Father's being part of their Lives - No wonder Children got so screwed up without a Father being their every day!
5:19PM, Missouri was always behind in giving Father's Rights and allowing children the Rights to spend time with Fathers. You go back to 1990's and back and Father's got cheated and spit on in the court systems when it came to Joint Custody and the Legal System. Joint Custody was not 50 / 50, it may say Joint, but it was 4 days out of every 14 days, and alternating holidays and extended summer break, which they thought was fair. Which it was not fair for the Children or Fathers, how would you feel if you could not see your children, play with them, or tuck them in and read to them every single day all the while supporting someone else that got to do that or if the Mother would not allow them to see their Paternal Grandparents - How would that make you feel?
Nothing to say about the article. Just love the angry divorced dad /men’s rights advocate energy in the comments. Clowns showing their behinds. It’s never you it’s always them, you did nothing wrong! The system is against you poor men! Grr women!
This woman has kept people in court since at least 2005... multiple lawyers, multiple reasons why nothing is her fault.
That's what I thought.
Have seen this 💩 before!
Angry angry shouty angry. It's not too hard to imagine why a wife might file for a divorce.
https://medium.com/fourth-wave/mens-rights-activism-the-gateway-to-misogyny-terrorism-8a764f833b28
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