Walker, Charles v. Frost, Jacob et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
CHARLES L. WALKER,
Plaintiff,
v.
DANE COUNTY CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY,
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES, ANDREA D. BRENDEMUEHL,
and MARY BETH KEPPEL,
Defendants.
OPINION and ORDER
25-cv-817-jdp
CHARLES L. WALKER,
Plaintiff,
v.
JACOB FROST, DANE COUNTY CHILD SUPPORT
AGENCY, and STATE OF WISCONSIN
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,
Defendants.
OPINION and ORDER
25-cv-907-jdp
Plaintiff Charles L. Walker, proceeding without counsel, has filed the two above-
captioned cases concerning events occurring in paternity and child support proceedings in the
Dane County Circuit Court. The court has allowed Walker to proceed with these cases without
prepaying any portion of the filing fees.
The next step is for me to screen Walker’s complaints and dismiss any portion that is
legally frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or asks
for money damages from a defendant who by law cannot be sued for money damages. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915. In doing so, I must accept the complaints’ allegations as true and construe the
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complaints generously, holding them to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted
by lawyers. Arnett v. Webster, 658 F.3d 742, 751 (7th Cir. 2011). I conclude that Walker cannot
state a proper claim for relief so I will dismiss both cases.
ALLEGATIONS OF FACT
In Case No. 25-cv-817-jdp, Walker alleges that in 2007 Andrea D. Brendemuehl of the
Dane County Child Support Agency initiated a paternity/child support proceeding against him
“[u]sing a fake petition and summons to hold a child support hearing without proper service,”
Dkt. 1 in the ’817 case, at 4, and that Brendemuehl got defendant court commissioner Mary
Beth Keppel to issue an arrest warrant against him. See Dane County Case No. 2007PA676PJ.
In Case No. 25-cv-907-jdp, Walker alleges that in 2023, defendant Judge Jacob Frost
issued a ruling in the ongoing family-court proceedings ordering Walker to pay child-support
arrears despite knowing that Walker’s only income was Social Security benefits exempted from
garnishment for child support. Frost later found Walker in contempt for failing to pay arrears
and issued a warrant leading to Walker’s arrest.
ANALYSIS
Walker 	seeks 	to 	bring 	claims 	against 	individuals 	involved 	in 	his 	family-court
proceedings and against Dane County and the State of Wisconsin. But Walker’s complaints
suffer from multiple problems, most of which are the same problems that I discussed in
screening the complaints in another of Walker’s cases regarding events connected to the family-
court proceedings, Walker v. Dane County Sheriff's Office, Case No. 25-cv-571-jdp (W.D. Wis.).
In that case I dismissed all of Walker’s claims except for his Fourth Amendment claims against
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officers who used excessive force against him, humiliated him during a strip search, and refused
to give him his medications.
In his current cases, Walker again alleges that the underlying state-court proceedings
are unconstitutional for various reasons, and he now adds that defendant Frost violated his
rights by garnishing his Social Security benefits. But my review of Wisconsin’s electronic court
records shows that Walker has a pending appeal challenging the underlying validity of the
state-court case and defendant’s Frost’s child support rulings. See Bennett v. Walker, Case No.
2025AP507 (Wis. Ct. App.). 1 This federal court cannot proceed with claims about rulings in
his state-court case while those proceedings are ongoing. See J.B. v. Woodard, 997 F.3d 714,
722 (7th Cir. 2021) (citing Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), and stating federal courts
cannot adjudicate claims that take aim at contested and ongoing family court custody dispute).
Even if Walker’s state-court proceedings weren’t ongoing, there are other fundamental
flaws with his claims. As with his previous case, Walker doesn’t include any allegations
plausibly suggesting that he has claims against the state or Dane County: he can’t sue the state
directly, and municipalities are liable for unconstitutional acts of its officers only if the
constitutional violations resulted from a policy, widespread practice, or decision by a
policymaker. Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658, 691 (1978).
Walker also can’t sue defendants regarding events that occurred in 2007. See Reget v.
City of La Crosse, 595 F.3d 691, 694 (7th Cir. 2010) (six-year statute of limitations for
constitutional claims like those brought by Walker); Gleash v. Yuswak, 308 F.3d 758, 760–61
(7th Cir. 2002) (district court may dismiss a complaint if party pleads enough information to
1 Available at https://wscca.wicourts.gov.
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show that complaint is untimely). Walker argues that the statute of limitations has not yet run
because he only recently reviewed his case file showing Attorney Brendemuehl’s misconduct in
initiating the family-court case. But a plaintiff’s claims accrue “when the plaintiff knows or has
reason to know of the injury which is the basis of his action.” Regains v. City of Chicago, 918 F.3d
529, 533 (7th Cir. 2019). There isn’t any plausible basis for Walker to assert that he wasn’t
aware until now of the false petition against him or problems with service or the arrest warrant.
Moreover, Judge Frost is immune for his official actions, Dawson v. Newman, 419 F.3d
656, 660–61 (7th Cir. 2005), and Commissioner Keppel is also immune for “functions integral
to the judicial process,” such as issuing warrants, Dellenbach v. Letsinger, 889 F.2d 755, 763 (7th
Cir. 1989).
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has cautioned against dismissing an
unrepresented plaintiff’s case without giving them a chance to amend the complaint. Felton v.
City of Chicago, 827 F.3d 632, 636 (7th Cir. 2016). But in this case, dismissal of these lawsuits
are appropriate because there isn’t any reason to think that Walker could amend his complaints
to fix the problems discussed above.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. 	These cases are DISMISSED.
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2. The clerk of court is directed to enter judgment accordingly and close these cases.
Entered November 17, 2025.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
________________________________________
JAMES D. PETERSON
District Judge
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