I don’t know if Fausat Ogunbayo has read the news for the past few years but the entire United States doesn’t even have $900 trillion dollars, let alone New York City, but that didn’t stop the Staten Island mother from filing a lawsuit for that amount alleging her children were wrongfully placed in foster care and she was incorrectly labeled mentally unstable.
Fausat Ogunbayo, 46, is representing herself in the case and she says the Administration for Children’s Services’ infringed upon her civil rights and inflicted “over three years of terror, horror, grievous harm, time lost, substantial economic hardship and injuries” when it placed her children in foster care in 2008. Ogunbayo’s two sons, then 10 and 12, have been out of her custody ever since.
According to court papers, there were several incidents which led ACS to deem Ogunbayo unfit, including a time when the mother sought medical treatment because she believed her children’s skin color was becoming darker due to radiation. Another time, she allegedly told school officials the FBI was after her sons.
The city claims Ogunbayo suffered hallucinations and was an absent parent but last month, a separate legal case stated there was no substantial evidence indicating the children were ever in “imminent danger” while in their mother’s care. The Staten Island Advance even reports that both children had near-perfect school attendance and were “thriving academically.” Plus they were up to date on their medical examinations and vaccinations, and their heights and weights were appropriate for their age.
Considering the $15 trillion national debt and the fact that the largest individual settlement ever given in the city was $18,278,000 which went to James McMillan after suffering paralyzing injuries in the 2003 Staten Island Ferry dock crash that killed 11 passengers, it’s not likely that Ogunbayo will get anything near what she’s asking. But if she can prove that she’s not unstable and her children were taken for no reason, a pay day might be in her future. At the very least, her children should be returned to her.
What do you think about this case? Will Ogunbayo likely receive a settlement?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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