In the sequel to the costliest-ever liability lawsuit against Orange County, a federal appellate court has affirmed that the county once again is not immune from liability for a 2000 incident in which a woman alleges that two social workers committed perjury to separate her from her mom when she was a young girl.

The ruling issued Tuesday by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is based on the same events that caused a jury to award Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick $9.6 million from Orange County in 2011 after she alleged that social workers used fabricated evidence to cause a court to remove her two daughters from her custody for six and a half years.

Now, Fogarty-Hardwick’s daughter, Preslie Hardwick, who was one of the two girls separated from her mom, also is suing the county. And while the appellate court’s ruling does not address the merits of Hardwick’s complaint, it suggests the county could be on the hook to pay out once again.

“No official with an IQ greater than room temperature in Alaska could claim that he or she did not know that the conduct at the center of this case violated both state and federal law,” Judge Stephen Trott wrote in Tuesday’s opinion. “Perjury is a crime under both federal and California state law, as is the knowing submission of false evidence to a court. … Because they are supported by the record as a whole, we construe the facts Preslie offers in support of her allegations in the light most favorable to her.”

Hardwick’s allegations are the same as her mother’s: that in February 2000, Orange County Social Services agents Marcie Vreeken and Helen Dwojak fabricated testimony “that (Fogarty-Hardwick) had caused her daughters to skip a mandatory visit with their father, when in fact the problem was caused by a visitation monitor.”

Hardwick also alleges the social workers falsely advised the court that Fogarty-Hardwick had turned her daughters – ages 6 and 9 at the time – against their visitation monitor and that Fogarty-Hardwick had told her children that their father was trying to take them away from her.

According to Tuesday’s opinion, county attorneys argued that it was not clearly established in civil court at the time of the events in question that in situations such as Hardwick’s, those involved had “the right to be free from deliberately fabricated evidence.” The court disagreed with that assertion.

On Thursday, Preslie Hardwick’s attorney Robert Powell said he would let the appellate court ruling “simmer with the county” over the weekend before submitting a seven-figure settlement offer next week.

County attorneys declined to comment on whether they might recommend settling the case. It wasn’t immediately known whether they would appeal the ruling.

Orange County officials have maintained that its social workers never wronged Fogarty-Hardwick or her family. Neither employee was disciplined and Vreeken was later promoted to a position in which she trains other social workers. County records show Vreeken was still employed in 2015, when she earned $132,466 in total compensation.

County Supervisor Todd Spitzer said that social workers often face difficult decisions when deciding when and whether to separate a child from their parents and that it was important for those employees to know that the county backs their decisions.

“Social workers have an immense responsibility to protect children, and I’d much rather have a social worker err on the side of taking a child from the home than leave a kid where there might be suspected child abuse,” Spitzer said. “It’s a delicate balance, and social workers needs to know that if they do that the county will back them up.”

In 2011, a jury awarded Fogarty-Hardwick $4.9 million in damages. The county appealed the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear it. During that time, interest and additional attorney fees increased her total payout to $9.6 million. The county also incurred an additional $1 million for its own legal costs on the case.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7960 or jgraham@scng.com