Brooke Ward’s 114-page complaint names Gov. Wes Moore, former Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López, other state and county officials, Fenwick Behavioral Services and companies connected to the Residence Inn by Marriott near Johns Hopkins Hospital. It brings 16 claims, including federal civil rights violations, negligence and wrongful death, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The complaint does not specify an amount and requests a jury trial.

The lawsuit alleges that officials knew children were being housed in unlicensed hotel placements but did not put emergency protections in place. It points to a Sept. 10, 2025, Board of Public Works meeting, where López said 11 foster children remained in hotels as of Sept. 5 and that the administration was “determined to get to zero.” Ward died 12 days later.

Kanaiyah had been staying at the Residence Inn since Aug. 4, 2025. The complaint says she had a history of mental health challenges, self-harm and previous suicide attempts, and that her mother repeatedly warned caseworkers she needed an appropriate treatment placement. According to the lawsuit, several residential facilities declined to accept her because of the severity of her needs.

The state instead contracted with Fenwick to provide round-the-clock, one-on-one supervision at the hotel. A state investigation after her death found neglect involving three Fenwick employees. Investigators said one caretaker worked about 53 consecutive hours after another employee became unavailable and identified problems with medication security.

The complaint alleges the caretaker missed required hourly wellness checks, with more than four hours between checks on the morning Kanaiyah died. When the caretaker found her unresponsive, the caretaker told a 911 dispatcher she did not know how to perform CPR. The medical examiner determined Kanaiyah died from diphenhydramine intoxication, the active ingredient in Benadryl, and ruled the death a suicide.

DHS stopped referring children to Fenwick two days after Kanaiyah’s death. About a month later, the department directed local agencies to stop placing foster children in unlicensed settings; by November 2025, DHS reported that no foster children remained in hotels.

“The executive mechanism that ended the hotel placement program after September 22 was available to the Governor but was simply not invoked,” the complaint states. The lawsuit alleges Moore and López could have ordered safety audits, increased supervision or other immediate safeguards before Kanaiyah died.

The complaint also accuses Marriott International and companies that owned or operated the hotel of failing to assess whether it was suitable for a child with significant behavioral health needs. The lawyers argue Marriott had authority to inspect the property and enforce safety standards. The lawsuit cites a separate 2024 dispute in which Marriott took legal action against a franchisee over an unauthorized arrangement to house migrants and asylum seekers.

The filing points to broader concerns about hotel placements. A September 2025 legislative audit found that 280 foster children had been housed in hotels during fiscal years 2023 and 2024; 82 stayed from three months to two years. The complaint also references a 2023 federal case involving a different 16-year-old foster child who allegedly overdosed twice on unsecured medication while living in a motel.

In January 2026, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced it would not file criminal charges in Kanaiyah’s death. State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said investigators could not hold the worker criminally responsible based on the evidence they found. Moore previously said there should be accountability for what happened to Ward.

“It should not take the death of a 16-year-old girl to make a government do what it was already obligated to do,” said Thomas Doyle, one of the attorneys representing Brooke Ward. “Kanaiyah should be alive today.”