⭐ LAWSUIT #5 — My First Minnesota Court of Appeals Filing
- Ryan Alvar
- Dec 1
- 11 min read
Seventeen Months, Five Cases, and a District That Still Can’t Follow the Law
Seventeen months.
Five lawsuits.
1,248 pages filed today alone.
Two children who haven’t seen their father since January 3, 2025.
A judicial district that has stopped following its own rules.
And a system I refuse to let destroy my family.
Today, I filed Lawsuit #5:
⭐ A Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Writ of Prohibition
in the Minnesota Court of Appeals — my first state-level appellate filing.
This petition represents the first meaningful opportunity — inside Minnesota’s state justice system — to break free from the 17 months of lawlessness coming out of the Sixth Judicial District and to finally move this case toward a lawful outcome.
And I want to show everyone exactly what this means.
⭐ THE FIVE ACTIVE LAWSUITS (AND WHY THEY EXIST)
Every lawsuit below was forced into existence because the Sixth Judicial District refused to apply the law, refused to enforce parenting time, refused to acknowledge evidence, and refused to protect my children.
1. ORDER FOR PROTECTION (69DU-FA-24-464) — Still Open
This entire nightmare began after Amy assaulted me on July 2, 2024 while screaming at our two-year-old during a nap meltdown. No, not the two year old. She was quietly sitting on the floor playing.
When I told her I was going to petition for custody so she could get help for whatever she was going through, she fled into the OFP process.
We were in St. Louis County visiting family — and it was there she initiated an Emergency OFP.
We’ve been stuck there ever since.
The OFP contained:
false allegations
fabricated statements
witness tampering
and contradictions to the police report I filed the next day
I fought it — HARD — because it was false.
The children were wrongly included at first, but I got them removed from the OFP on October 23, 2024.
Now, the OFP is under a Rule 60.02 motion to vacate or reopen based on:
Fraud upon the court
Newly discovered evidence, including
Amy’s illegal computer access
her viewing of my private court files
witness tampering
psychological-evaluations now available
I am also still fighting to remove Amy from the OFP, because she has never been held accountable for the false allegations or her assault.
Safe Haven and Justice North both supported the OFP based on falsehoods, and both are defendants in my federal case.
2. CUSTODY CASE (69DU-FA-24-551) — Still Open
I filed this on 8/16/24 — but only because Amy weaponized the OFP to block my ability to file first.
The OFP forced the entire custody case into St. Louis County, despite the children’s last Minnesota county of residence being Hennepin County.
Since then:
I had supervised visits for a short period
My children openly expressed distress, fear, and alienation (documented by staff)
On January 3, 2025, Amy cut off all parenting time
Judge Hopps refused to enforce the parenting-time order
She refused to hold Amy in contempt
She refused to hear any temporary-relief motions
She allowed the case to languish for over a year and a half
This district has left my children without a healthy parent during the most critical developmental period of their lives.
3. OFP VIOLATION CASE (69DU-CR-24-3274) — WON
Amy accused me of violating the OFP.
I fought it all the way to a scheduled jury trial.
It was dismissed “in the interests of justice” and expunged.
In this case, police documented that:
Amy accessed my computer
viewed my private Dropbox court files
read witness statements
read my court preparation materials
and admitted she knew I didn’t know she still had access
This was the first formal acknowledgement of the illegal computer access that has now exploded into the centerpiece of both the federal civil rights complaint and the 60.02 OFP motion.
4. FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT (Case No. 25-cv-2792 (KMM/LIB)) — Stayed Pending Custody Adjudication
This complaint names 27 defendants:
Six Sixth Judicial District judges
Guardian ad Litem
Safe Haven
Justice North
DAIP
St. Louis County / Douglas County
City of Duluth / City of Superior
Attorneys
Law Firms
It details:
First Amendment violations
Fourteenth Amendment due-process violations
Prior restraint
Illegal search and seizure
Fraud upon the court
Procedural irregularities
Systematic denial of parenting time
Structural conflicts
Contempt used as retaliation
Misuse of GAL confidentiality
Mental health dismissed as “irrelevant”
The federal court stayed the case, but it is far from over.
And yes — “maybe more news next week,” because I have until December 10th to file the federal appeal on the GAL report sealing and the stay.
5. TODAY: THE MANDAMUS + PROHIBITION PETITION — Filed in the Minnesota Court of Appeals
This filing asks the Court of Appeals to:
Transfer venue out of the Sixth Judicial District
Reassign my custody case to a neutral retired judge
Prohibit any Sixth District judge from presiding over my case
Correct structural conflicts that make a fair trial impossible
And it lays out — in a way no one outside the Sixth Judicial District has seen until now — how this case has been mishandled from day one.
The Sixth District’s actions are now being reviewed by judges who do this for a living:
⭐ Three appellate judges
⭐ Independent from St. Louis County
⭐ Who correct district judges every single day
⭐ Who understand bias, conflicts of interest, and misuse of authority
⭐ Who are not part of the Sixth District’s culture, peer group, or political
environment
This matters more than people realize.
⭐ THE ROLE OF CHIEF JUDGE LESLIE BEIERS — AND WHY IT PROVES THE CONFLICT
Chief Judge Beiers is a defendant in my federal civil-rights complaint,
because she:
personally intervened in my custody case
took over a hearing unannounced
refused to hear my temporary custody motion
refused to hear the GAL removal motion
refused to hear parenting-time enforcement
focused only on contempt
and jailed me for publishing a GAL report that:
✔ contained no legally confidential information, and
✔ had all Minnesota-statute-required redactions
But here’s the key point:
I am a legal parent.
I have the right to advocate for my children’s safety.
I used government documents created by government employees.
I had legal possession of the report.
The real issue now central to the federal case is this:
Can the government jail a legal parent to conceal its own inaction — inaction that is prolonging trauma for two very young children?
I published the GAL report because it documented the emotional deterioration of my children and exposed the Sixth Judicial District’s refusal to intervene. I legally possessed the report. I properly redacted every piece of information required by Minnesota statute. I am their legal parent. And in my advocacy outside the courtroom, I am not bound by the same confidentiality standards that apply inside it — even if I hadn’t already redacted it.
The court didn’t jail me to protect “confidentiality.”
They jailed me because the report revealed the truth about the children’s trauma and the state’s inaction.
That is now part of the federal civil-rights complaint, and it will ultimately be decided in federal court.
⭐ THE OFP TRAP — HOW THEY TRIED TO END MY CASE BEFORE IT STARTED
Before my first hearing — before a judge heard one fact, before any evidence was reviewed — a St. Louis County employee approached me in front of my family (I have witnesses) and pressured me to sign something called the:
⭐ “OFP Consent / Stipulation Without Findings” Form
(also known as a Stipulated OFP)
This is not a harmless form.
It is not a shortcut.
It is not “no big deal.”
This form is a legal surrender.
Here is what it actually does:
🔻 It gives the government 100% control over the OFP
🔻 It takes away your right to challenge the allegations
🔻 It stops you from presenting evidence
🔻 It strips you of the ability to appeal
🔻 It locks the OFP in place as if you lost, even though you never had a hearing
🔻 It puts you at a massive disadvantage in every future case
🔻 It creates a paper trail implying guilt even when you did nothing
In other words:
❗ It ends your rights before they begin.
But here’s what happened to me:
The county employee told me:
“It doesn’t admit guilt.”
“It’s the best thing for you.”
“Just sign it.”
I told him — clearly — that the allegations were false and Amy assaulted ME, not the other way around.
He still pushed it.
He tried again before the second hearing.
And that raises the obvious question every person should be asking:
❗ Why would a government employee pressure a person into signing away their rights when that person said the allegations were false?
Because this form makes the government’s job easier:
No hearings
No evidence
No accountability
No scrutiny
No judicial review
No transparency
No paperwork
No challenge
No due process
And no chance for the person to ever clear their name.
Signing it would have:
Kept my kids on the OFP
Buried the evidence of Amy’s assault
Hidden the illegal computer access
Prevented me from discovering the fraud
Caused me to lose the OFP violation case
Prevented the federal civil-rights complaint
Prevented this appellate petition
Given Amy permanent control of the children
This wasn’t a recommendation.
This was a red flag.
No parent should be pressured by the government to sign a form that destroys their rights — especially when that parent is not represented by an attorney and has expressly stated the allegations are false.
This is something the Minnesota Legislature, the Attorney General, the Governor, and the Judicial Council need to be aware of.
It should be illegal for government employees to:
recommend legal decisions
advise a parent on their “best interests”
push a parent to sign away constitutional rights
without counsel
without a hearing
without due process
and without the parent understanding the consequences
And those consequences are hidden behind micro-printed language most parents will never notice.
Looking back, that moment could have changed the entire trajectory of my family’s life.
Had I signed, everything I know today — would have stayed buried.
⭐ DO NOT SIGN IT.
⭐ I’m incredibly grateful I didn’t.
⭐ FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT.
If even one parent reading this avoids that trap because of what I’ve written, then exposing this was worth it.
⭐ WHY THIS PETITION MATTERS — TO MY CASE, TO MINNESOTA, AND TO THE FUTURE OF OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM
This petition is bigger than my case.
It is bigger than my family.
It is bigger than any single hearing, judge, or ruling.
This petition exposes the structural failure inside the Sixth Judicial District — a failure that most parents will never be able to prove because they don’t have the documentation, evidence trail, or federal case to show what’s really happening behind the scenes.
My case is unusual not because the system acted improperly —
but because I can prove it, step-by-step, across five different lawsuits.
Most parents don’t have:
recordings
police reports that contradict the OFP
admissions of illegal computer access
countless lawless orders causing real harm to children
a dismissed OFP violation case “in the interests of justice”
a Chief Judge inserting herself to jail them
a GAL report exposing trauma being used for contempt
a federal civil-rights case naming six judges with 27 total defendants
Most parents don’t have a paper trail that exposes the pattern.
But the pattern exists — and this petition forces it into the light.
This petition is not:
a simple appeal
a disagreement with one ruling
a request to “try again”
or a technical argument
This petition asks the Minnesota Court of Appeals to confront a foundational constitutional problem:
⭐ Can a custody case be tried fairly in a district where six judges are defendants in a federal civil-rights lawsuit arising from that same case?
The answer is obvious:
❗ No parent in America could get a fair trial in that environment.
❗ No judge can be impartial when the litigant is suing them, their boss and/or their colleagues.
❗ No courtroom can be neutral when the Chief Judge can insert herself at
any time — and already has.
And if the Court of Appeals agrees, this petition will:
✔ Move my entire case to Hennepin County
A venue tied to my residence — not Amy’s false OFP filing.
✔ Assign a retired judge with no ties to St. Louis County
No “good ol’ boys/girls club.”
No political pressure.
No influence from local advocacy groups.
No fear of peer retaliation.
✔ Force all OFP and custody issues into a neutral tribunal
For the first time since July 2024.
✔ Automatically remove the case from Chief Judge Beiers’ reach
Her ability to intervene at will ends.
✔ Prevent the Sixth District from influencing outcomes
The entire ecosystem — Safe Haven, Justice North, DAIP, the GAL program, the judges — loses its grip.
✔ Strengthen the federal civil-rights case
Because the appellate court acknowledging structural conflict validates everything documented in Case No. 25-cv-2792 (KMM/LIB).
✔ Demonstrate to the Minnesota Legislature and Executive Branch that:
The judiciary needs oversight
You cannot fix systemic dysfunction by “trusting the system”
Judicial immunity has limits
Government-funded advocacy groups must be accountable
The Duluth Model’s influence in custody cases is deeply harmful
Parents deserve due process
Parents deserve fairness
Children deserve safety
⭐ Most importantly:
This petition reveals — publicly — a level of systemic failure that most families experience silently, without evidence, without recourse, and without any way to expose it.
My case exposes it because I fought hard enough, long enough, and documented everything.
But these failures impact thousands of families who never make it this far.
This petition is a real chance to change the direction of my case —
and a chance to expose what has been happening to countless other families in this family court system who have never had the ability to shine a light on it.
⭐ THE MINNESOTA COURT OF APPEALS — THE FIRST REAL CHANCE AT A FAIR REVIEW
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reviews:
thousands of district-court rulings
hundreds of custody and OFP appeals
judicial misconduct issues
conflicts of interest
due-process violations
failures to follow Minnesota statutes
Every case is reviewed by a panel of:
⭐ Three appellate judges
who are:
independent
impartial
outside the influence of the Sixth District
trained to spot judicial error
not tied to the Duluth Model
not tied to the culture of St. Louis County
not subordinate to Chief Judge Beiers
not influenced by Safe Haven, Justice North, DAIP, or local politics
This is the first time Minnesota state judges outside the Sixth District will read the entire narrative.
This petition is more than a lawsuit.
It is:
A turning point
A test of Minnesota’s judicial branch
A signal to the legislature
A warning to the executive branch
A roadmap for systematic reform
A case study in everything wrong with St. Louis County family court
No matter what happens next, this filing is a line in the sand.
⭐ FOR READERS: HERE IS THE PETITION (FULL TEXT)
I am including the entire petition below — not the 1,248 pages of exhibits and appendix, but the full narrative petition itself.
It speaks for itself.
⭐ FINAL THOUGHTS
The longer this has gone on, the more obvious it becomes:
It shouldn't take FIVE LAWSUITS to protect your children.
It shouldn't take SEVENTEEN MONTHS to be heard.
It shouldn't take a FEDERAL CASE and an APPELLATE PETITION to get fairness.
And it shouldn’t take a parent losing everything just to expose what’s happening.
But here we are.
And I will keep fighting — as any parent who loves his children would.
If you’ve gone through anything like this in Minnesota — especially in the Sixth Judicial District — let me know if I haven't heard from you yet.
This is far from over.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
🔁 Join the Fight for Reform
I have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging systemic misconduct by judges, attorneys, and state agencies that has stripped parents of their rights and traumatized countless children.
With 27 defendants, including the State of Minnesota, this case seeks accountability — and reform.
Join me in taking this mission national.
How You Can Help:
✅ Sign the Petition: Urge DOJ to investigate family-court violations
✅ Subscribe: Stay updated — Contact
✅ Visit: www.ryanalvar.com
✅ Support the Fight: GoFundMe – Help Cover Legal Costs & Reform Efforts
✅ Follow & Share: Real Dad Initiative
✅ Contact Your Legislators: Demand oversight for Judges, GALs and transparency in family court.
Family-court reform won’t happen unless lawmakers hear directly from the people.
If what you’ve read here troubles you, don’t stop at signing the petition—call and email your state legislators. Tell them that what has happened in this case—and in so many others—proves we need oversight for judges and guardians ad litem, uniform due-process protections, and full transparency in family courts.
📬 Not sure who represents you? Find out here → 🔗 https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/iMaps/districts/
Across the country, I’ve heard from parents who’ve lost everything—some haven’t seen their children in years. When the system designed to protect families becomes the weapon that destroys them, it’s time for change. We must fix this broken family court system. Until that day, I’ll keep fighting—for our children, for truth, and for justice.
"517 days since my children were kidnapped. This isn't over."
Ryan William Alvar
Parent and Plaintiff
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