When attorney Evita Tolu filed a motion to amend her custody agreement in 2017, she didn’t foresee that it could lead to losing her two sons entirely but that’s exactly what happened.
“I went there to protect my children and to get them counseling, to get them support, to learn proper relationships and boundaries because they were destroyed for my sons and myself,” Tolu told the St. Louis Record. “I went there for help.”
Instead, Tolu alleges in a lawsuit that court-appointed professionals breached their standard of care, breached their fiduciary duty, or engaged in constructive fraud. The defendants Tolu named are psychologist Dr. James D. Reid, Ph.D., Elaine Pudlowski who was guardian ad litem (GAL), and Jennifer Webbe Van Luven, who counseled Tolu’s 14- and 13-year-old sons at the time.
“I never expected to pay Dr. Reid, $30,000,” Tolu said. “I never expected my ex and I to pay Elaine Pudlowski over $30,000. I never expected to pay my attorney fees, and never even have a chance to see a judge.”
When reached by telephone, Jennifer Webbe Van Luven told the St. Louis Record, "I don't have any comment, Thank you."
Pudlowski and Dr. Reid did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tolu’s complaint, originally filed in the 21st Judicial Circuit Court in St. Louis County on Dec. 4, 2020, was reassigned by the Missouri Supreme Court to Judge Steven Ohmer of the 22nd Judicial Court after 31 judges recused themselves, according to media reports. That’s because Tolu alleges they received an email from presiding Judge Michael Burton discussing her lawsuit.
“Once the judges received this email from him, they started recusing themselves because judges cannot receive any extra-judicial information outside of court proceedings and so the judges were following the rules of judicial conduct,” she said.
Judge Ohmer dismissed Tolu’s lawsuit on June 4, in part, due to quasi-judicial immunity and judicial immunity for the court-appointed professionals.
Judge Burton declined to comment except to tell the St. Louis Record, “I did not realize that the case on which you were seeking comment is on appeal. That being the case, I cannot make any comment.”
CBS reported that Tolu's lawsuit resulted in a group of GAL's discussing the litigation at a Zoom meeting, which was recorded and posted on YouTube.
Tolu answered the following questions about her lawsuit.
What kind of law do you practice in Missouri?
“I am an immigration attorney with offices in Missouri, Florida, and Hawaii.”
You didn't name the judge as a defendant?
“No. I filed a complaint with the Commission on Retirement, Removal, and Discipline and they told me there is nothing they can do."
Specifically, the Feb. 26 letter addressed to Tolu from the Commission on Retirement, Removal, and Discipline, obtained by the St. Louis Record, states,
“Please be advised that the Commission on Retirement, Removal, and Discipline has completed its review of your complaint against Judge Michael D. Burton. The Commission does not have the authority to consider a complaint concerning judicial error, a mistake in the application of law, or other legal reasons for appeals. The Commission cannot review judicial decisions because such is the role of the appellate court. Violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct are the only matters over which the commission has authority. At the conclusion of its review, the Commission voted that there is no legal basis to proceed. Consequently, the file has been closed.”
How did you land in court as a litigant?
“I filed for divorce and my ex-husband and I agreed on 50-50 custody. The divorce was not contested. We got divorced in 2016. As soon as we got divorced, my ex began interfering in my custodial time. He wouldn't allow me to see my children during my court-allocated time and then he moved one child out of the county in violation of the court order. He basically blocked me from seeing my oldest child. My youngest child at that point remained with me. He didn't want to be moved. After many attempts trying to resolve this issue peacefully with my ex, I filed a motion to modify custody and I asked the court to resolve the issue and let me see my oldest son. Elaine Pudlowski got involved and she dragged it out for three years. I was never allowed to see the judge. All the meetings were conducted in private in the judge’s chambers with Elaine Pudlowski heading the meetings and when I tried to figure out what was going on in those chamber meetings, I was told that if I ask too many questions, I will never see my children again.”
Where are your children now?
“I have not seen one of my children for over four years and the other one for over a year and a half. During the three-year litigation, Jennifer Webbe Van Luven put them through horrific therapy that basically alienated both of my sons from me. She told them for 11 months how I'm a monster and narcissist and how they should not have any relationship with me. Basically, after that therapy, my children turned away from me.”
Are there other parents who have had similar experiences with these same court professionals?
“Since I got my diagnosis that I was a narcissist, borderline, and sociopath, I was in shock. I started looking into other cases where Dr. James Reid was the psychologist. We identified at least over 20 other litigants who he diagnosed with the same diagnosis, which is statistically not even possible. Every single parent I talked to was diagnosed with borderline and if you look at the DSM-5 it says that 0.2% of the population has this condition. So applying James Reid’s analysis, all people with borderline personality disorder in the United States reside in St. Louis County and they're all patients of Dr. James Reid who is the right arm of Elaine Pudlowski. When she gets into the case, she brings him on and he diagnoses the parent as a sociopath and narcissist. On the basis of that diagnosis, they take away children from the parent.”
Did you ask for a second opinion?
“Once I got my test results from him, I took it to another psychologist who ran the test results for myself and my ex-husband and it appeared that I was absolutely healthy where my husband was, in fact, a hostile person with severe psychological pathology indicating having an abusive personality. But he concealed those test results from the court and instead presented his own version.”
If you could revamp or modify the family court system, what changes would you make?
“There should be accountability for Guardians Ad Litem. They should not be immune from their behavior. There should not be immunity for therapists and experts who destroy evidence, alter evidence, manipulate the evidence, and conceal evidence. Unfortunately, in Missouri, there is no accountability. They do what they do and the presiding judge supports their actions. That's why they are so brazen, and that's why so many parents and so many children are in danger and in peril. There should be accountability standards built-in, and one guardian ad litem should not control the whole court and should not be allowed to make $290,000 off 56 cases that are heard in one month, which is horrific.”
Why haven’t you and other parents who are litigants filed a class-action lawsuit?
“I know that a lot of litigants explore that option but in each family, the facts are so different. A class action is good for something very simple and straightforward like a defective product. With family court, it's different types of violence, the children are different ages and there are different circumstances. But I have to tell you that there will be more lawsuits filed against James Reid, Elaine Pudlowski, and Jennifer Webbe Van Luven. They are in the works."