Ryan W. Alvar v. State of Minnesota

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 25-3447
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Ryan W. Alvar
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant
v.
State of Minnesota; St. Louis County, MN; City of Duluth; Douglas County; City
of Superior; Shawn Pearson, Judge; Kathryn Bergstrom, Referee; Clarissa Ek,
Child Support Magistrate; Nicole Hopps, Judge; Theresa Neo, Judge; Jordan Mae
Dokken, Guardian ad Litem; Landreville & Schwandt, P.A.; Alexander M.
Landreville, Attorney; Katelynn Schwandt, Attorney; Reinke Taylor, PLLC;
Shawn C. Reinke, Attorney; Victoria M.B. Taylor, Attorney; Johnson Turner
PLLC; Katie M. Jarvi, Attorney; Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center; Justice
North Civil Legal Aid; Domestic Abuse Intervention Program, DAIP; Amy Jo
Schmidt; Kartta Group; Sara Bovee, Doctor, Psy.D., LP; Ashlan Mahan, Psy.D.,
Psychology Fellow; Leslie Beiers, Chief Judge
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of Minnesota
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Submitted: May 15, 2026
Filed: May 20, 2026
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Ryan Alvar appeals after the district court1 dismissed his 42 U.S.C. § 1983
claims seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, and stayed his remaining claims
based on Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). After careful review of the record
and the arguments properly before us, we conclude that the district court properly
abstained. See Minn. Living Assistance, Inc. v. Peterson, 899 F.3d 548, 551 (8th Cir.
2018) (district court’s decision to abstain under Younger is reviewed for abuse of
discretion). We also find no basis for reversal of the order sealing a guardian ad litem
report that Alvar filed in the district court. Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R.
47B.
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1The Honorable Katherine M. Menendez, United States District Judge for the
District of Minnesota.
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