By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
A civil lawsuit filed on December 2, 2025, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County alleges that a Maryland father has been separated from his son for nearly four years due to the misuse of protective orders, court failures, and third-party enforcement actions.
The lawsuit, Reichert v. Hornbeck et al. (C-03-CV-25-005682), was filed by Jeff Reichert, a disabled U.S. Army veteran and former custodial parent. Defendants include Sarah Hornbeck, the State of Maryland, the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore County, Baltimore County District Court commissioners, and judicial officers sued in their official capacities.
According to the complaint, Reichert has not had meaningful contact with his son, Grant, since February 2, 2022, when the child was 12 years old. The filing states that a temporary 90-day no-contact order entered that year was never meaningfully lifted and instead became the functional starting point of a long-term separation, without a final adjudication permanently barring contact.
The lawsuit highlights a 2019 Final Consent Order entered by the Baltimore County Circuit Court that awarded Reichert primary custody. A contemporaneous mediation email marked “For Settlement Purposes Only” described the child as thriving academically and socially and contemplated continued shared parenting. The complaint alleges that later protective-order filings were used to circumvent that custody framework.
Reichert further alleges that unserved or legally defective protective orders were repeatedly issued or enforced, and that schools and other third parties acted on those orders to restrict father-child communication. The filing also raises disability-rights concerns, alleging that Reichert, who has documented PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, was denied reasonable accommodations and meaningful access to court processes.
Reichert states that all defendants have been served except Hornbeck, who avoided service for several weeks. After requesting that her attorneys accept service, he proceeded with private process servers and sheriff service. Counsel for the State has advised that the case is expected to be removed to federal court before January 16, 2026.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, including clarification of whether any valid protective order exists and an injunction barring enforcement of unserved or void orders. While the complaint primarily seeks prospective relief, Reichert has indicated that monetary damages may also be pursued as the litigation proceeds.
More case information available at FreeGrantReichert.com.
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