Seg v. Gdk
Seg v. Gdk
Opinion of the Court
[T1] Mother, SEG, contests the district court's refusal to terminate the parental rights of Father, GDK, to the parties' minor child, KGK. We determine that the district court's order is not an appealable order under W.R.A.P. 1.05, and we therefore dismiss this appeal.
ISSUE
[12] The dispositive issue in this case is whether the district court's Order on Termination of Parental Rights is an appealable order from which this Court has jurisdiction to entertain an appeal.
FACTS
[T3] Mother petitioned for termination of Father's parental rights to KGK on November 17, 2005. Mother's petition also requested back child support and future child support. Father responded to the petition, and counterclaimed for visitation. The district court held a hearing on the petition and counterclaim and issued an order, in which it concluded that Mother had failed to prove the statutory requirements for terminating Father's rights. The court also found that the parties had not presented adequate evidence regarding child support or visitation and suggested further hearings on those issues. Mother appealed.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
{ {4] Under W.R.A.P. 1.04(a) this Court has jurisdiction to entertain an appeal from a judgment or from an appealable order. Whether a court has jurisdiction is a question of law to be reviewed de novo. Steele v. Neeman, 6 P.3d 649, 653 (Wyo. 2000).
[T5] WRAP. 1.04(a) states "(al judgment rendered, or appealable order made, by a district court may be: reversed, vacated, remanded, or modified by the supreme court for errors appearing on the record." W.R.AP. 1.05 defines an appeal-able order as:
(a) An order affecting a substantial right in an action, when such order, in effect, determines the action and prevents a judgment; or
(b) An order affecting a substantial right made in a special proceeding; or
(c) An order made upon a summary application in an action after judgment; or
(d) An order, including a conditional order, granting a new trial on the grounds stated in Rule 59(a)(4) and (5), Wyo. R. Civ. P.; if an appeal is taken from such an order, the judgment shall remain final and in effect for the purposes of appeal by another party; or
(e) Interlocutory orders and decrees of the district courts which:
(1) Grant, continue, or modify injune-tions, or dissolve injunctions, or refuse to dissolve or modify injunctions; or
(2) Appoint receivers, or issue orders to wind up receiverships, or to take steps to accomplish the purposes thereof, such as directing sales or other disposition of property.
[16] W.R.A.P. 1.05(c), (d), and (e) are not implicated in any possible analysis of the district court's Order on Termination of Parental Rights. Therefore, in order to qualify as appealable, the order must affect a substantial right, and must either be issued in a special proceeding, or prevent a judgment in the case, under W.R.A.P. 1.05(a) or (b). The first question is dispositive.
[17] This order does not affect a substantial right. Father's parental rights and right to associate with his daughter (and thus, KGK's right to association with her father) were not altered in any way by this interlocutory order. No substantial right of any party was affected.
[T8] In addition, contrary to what Mother implies on appeal, the order cannot be considered a judgment. Black's Law Dictionary 858 (8th ed. 2004) defines a judgment as "[a] court's final determination of the rights and obligations of the parties in a case". The order specified that issues remained to be resolved and invited the parties to request further hearings on those issues. In particular, the court found it necessary to leave the issues of child support and visitation unresolved because the parties had not presented sufficient evidence on those matters at the hearing on the petition to terminate. We cannot hear an appeal from an order that does not affect a substantial right, in a case where two of the three issues raised remain unaddressed by the court.
CONCLUSION
[T9] The Order on Termination of Parental Rights in this case did not affect a substantial right and so was not an appealable order under W.R.A.P. 1.05. The order also was not a judgment under W.R.A.P. 1.04, as it did not resolve all the issues in the case. Therefore, this court has no jurisdiction to entertain an appeal from the order. We dismiss.
HILL, J., files a dissenting opinion.
. Compare FML v. TW, 2007 WY 73, ¶¶ 5-7, 157 P.3d 455, 458-59 (Wyo. 2007), where we found that an order changing child custody was an appealable order because it affected a substantial right in a special proceeding. The cases are distinguishable because, here, the fundamental parent-child relationship was not altered by the order.
. The parties claim that another case was filed (though they cannot agree who filed it) concerning the issues of child support and visitation. We have no evidence of such a case in the record. In any event, the filing of a new matter does not change the fact that those issues are outstanding in this case, though it may present issues of collateral estoppel and res judicata for one proceeding or the other.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
[T10] I respectfully dissent because this case involves a special proceeding that is
[T11] I would hold that the district court's order is an appealable order,. The governing statutes give the district court only two alternative resolutions to such cases. The first possible resolution is this:
§ 14-2-315. Order terminating the parent-child legal relationship; contents.
The order terminating the parent-child legal relationship shall be in writing and shall contain the findings of the court. If the court terminates the parent-child legal relationship of either one (1) or both parents, it shall fix the responsibility for the child's support and appoint a guardian of the child's person or estate or both.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-815 (LexisNexis 2007).
[112] The second option is this:
§ 14-2-316. Dismissal of petition; continuation of hearing.
If the court does not terminate the parent-child legal relationship, it shall dismiss the petition or direct an authorized agency to continue to make efforts to rehabilitate the parent and continue the hearing for no longer than six (6) months. The authorized agency shall provide the court with any additional reports regarding its rehabilitative efforts and results. Pending final hearing, the court may continue the present placement of the child or place the child in the temporary custody of an authorized ageney and fix responsibility for temporary child support. [Emphasis added.]
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-316 (LexisNexis 2007).
[T13] The district court chose an option that was not available to it. However, it is abundantly clear that the district court intended mot to terminate Father's parental rights. I would construe the order issued by the district court accordingly and find that the order had the effect of dismissing the petition. Therefore, the district court had no jurisdiction to consider any other issues (such as support or visitation) and if it had done so, we would have no jurisdiction to consider them here. The district court did not have the authority to put this family "on hold" while other extraneous matters, which can readily be resolved under the banner of other available proceedings, are resolved. The denial of the petition to terminate parental rights is a dismissal of the action and that order is an appealable order under W.R.A.P. 1.05(a). W.R.C.P. 54(b) does not apply to these circumstances.
[114] For these reasons, it is necessary for this Court to resolve this matter on its merits. The difficulty with this appeal results from the seeming inattention of the parties, and of both courts, to the special requirements set out in the statutes that provide for the termination of parental rights. We have recently re-emphasized our view that the procedures for termination of parental rights are mandatory, and failure to abide by them is fundamental error requiring reversal. LM v. Laramie County Department of Family Services, 2007 WY 189, ¶ 6, 171 P.3d 1077, 1080 (Wyo. 2007) (citing In re FM, 2007 WY 128, ¶¶ 25-26, 163 P.3d 844, 850-51 (Wyo. 2007)). In LM, we held that the failure of the district court to either appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL), or to
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SEG, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. GDK, Appellee (Defendant)
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published