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Oregon drops lawsuit against Calgary mom

Oregon has dropped its lawsuit against a Calgary mother who spent more than two years trying to wrest control of her son back from the state’s foster system.

CALGARY — Oregon has dropped its lawsuit against a Calgary mother who spent more than two years trying to wrest control of her son back from the state’s foster system.

“I feel that I have been vindicated somewhat and I feel that the path has been made a little smoother for me to help my family get some closure and move forward and have a better life,” Lisa Kirkman said.

The northwestern state had been demanding since September that Kirkman reimburse it $7,500 for the cost of keeping her son Noah while she was fighting to get him back through the courts.

Noah was 10 when he was seized in 2008 during a summer spent in Oregon visiting his stepfather, who wasn’t considered a legal guardian.

The boy had been stopped several times by police for riding his bike without a helmet and playing in areas he shouldn’t have been. Officials said they became concerned when they discovered he had social services files in Canada.

Kirkman explained that the files were open to enable Noah to access mental health programs for his special needs, which include a severe form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

It took until June, however, for the courts to give up control of Noah. Even then, the judge expressed reservations, saying he believed Kirkman had abandoned her son by leaving him with his stepfather.

Kirkman has said she thinks the judge might be hung up on her personal beliefs. She’s edited marijuana-related magazines and has a criminal record for growing medicinal marijuana for her husband for which she was sentenced to 10 hours of community service.

Kirkman and her lawyers saw the suit as the final insult in the case that generated headlines both north and south of the border and saw Canadian politicians get involved on Kirkman’s behalf.

Jade Duong, who appeared Tuesday as an agent for Oregon’s attorney general, said the state had “reconsidered its position” and was withdrawing the lawsuit.

“It seems the State of Oregon has a sense of shame after all,” said Daniel Mol, Kirkman’s lawyer.

“The public pressure on them must have been enormous. And, really, what was there to gain from chasing a single mother?”

Mol said he now intends to launch a lawsuit in the U.S. courts against the state.

“The purpose of that lawsuit will be compensation for Noah, Lisa and their family, but more importantly, to send a message to foreign jurisdictions: ’don’t mess with Canadians.”’

Mol wouldn’t disclose how much compensation his client would be seeking but said typically awards are much higher in American courts.

Kirkman said her son is happily attending a Calgary junior high school and doing all the things that “any other junior high school kid would be doing.”

But she still feels some lingering resentment against Oregon.

“It was like a stab in the back,” she said softly.

“I’m glad they came to some sense. I’m still angry at Oregon for taking my child and for keeping him — keeping him is the main thing I’m still trying to get over, why it took so long.

“This part of the story, the book is closed on it.”