Termination of Parental Rights
82.01.d Subject Matter Jurisdiction-Petition defects 7B-1104
In
Re D.M.Jr., COA06-1128, Robert Ewing for appellant-father
TPR petition failed to meet statutory requirements. The petition failed to identify
the Petitioner as one authorized by G.S. 7B-1103 to file a petition, the petition
failed to set forth the name and address of any person or agency to whom custody
of the child has been given by any court and there was no order conferring custody
of the children upon the petitioner.
COA
Opinion
In
Re W.B.M., COA06-1614, Duncan McCormick for appellant-mother
Private TPR. The bare allegations contained in the TPR petition do not allege
sufficient facts to comply with Section 7B-1104(6). While the father attached
and incorporated the judgment of divorce and the voluntary child custody agreement,
these documents do not contain sufficient facts to warrant a determination on
the alleged ground. Further, neither of the incorporated documents related to
the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
COA
Opinion
In
Re S.E.P. and L.U.E., COA06-1662, Jeffrey Miller for appellant-mother
Because the Motion and the Petitions are not properly verified in compliance
with statutory requirements, the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction
and the TPR order should be vacated.
COA
Opinion
In
Re Dj.L., D.L. and S.L., COA07-31, Jeffrey Miller for appellant-mother
The trial court had no jurisdiction because the TPR was filed as a motion in
the cause and the original petition was invalid as it was not filed by the Director
or the Director's agent.
COA
Opinion
In
Re H.L.A.D., COA07-34, Duncan McCormick for appellant-father
Private TPR. The failure to attach a copy of the custody order to a petition
to terminate parental rights deprived the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction
COA
Opinion
In
Re C.L.C. and B.M.C., COA07-535, Mercedes Chut for appellant-mother
The trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the termination
of parental rights proceedings as the motion did not contain facts sufficient
to warrant a determination that one or more of the grounds for terminating parental
rights exist.
COA
Opinion
In
Re D.M.L. and R.E.L., COAP07-574, Janet Ledbetter for appellant-mother
The trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the termination
of parental rights proceedings as the petition did not contain facts sufficient
to warrant a determination that one or more of the grounds for terminating parental
rights exist.
COA
Opinion
In
Re M.A.C., A.W., A.I.W., M.C. and G.W., COA07-746, Mary Reece for appellant-mother
The TPR petition stated only the bare statutory grounds. Although the attached
orders provided a modest amount of information about what occurred in 2003,
they provide no information as to how grounds for termination might exist in
2007, at which time the mother's situation had drastically changed.
COA
Opinion
In
Re C.M.H., B.N.H. and S.W.A., COA07-851, Lisa Skinner Lefler for appellant-father
DSS referred to an adjudication order giving it custody in its motion to terminate
parental rights but failed to attach any such order. Although the record before
the trial court contained a copy of the adjudication order, trial counsel objected
to its admission and the issue was preserved for appellate review. It was error
for the trial court to use the order in the file to obtain subject matter jurisdiction
over the case.
COA
Opinion
In
Re S.R.M., C.P.S.H. and S.A.M., COA08-571, Richard Croutharmel
The trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to terminate Respondent-Mother's
parental rights when Petitioner's adjudication petition was signed by a person
who failed to indicate whether he or she was the DSS director or one authorized
to sign on behalf of the DSS director and record evidence failed to show whether
the person was a DSS employee.
COA
Docket
In
Re R.A.E., COA08-1024, Robert Ewing for appellant-father
The trial court erred by hearing a TPR petition when the underlying A/N/D petition
was not properly signed and verified.
COA
Opinion
In
Re B.A.N.T., COA08-1167, Betsy Wolfenden for appellant-father
The trial court erred by hearing a TPR petition when the underlying A/N/D petition
was not properly signed and verified.
COA
Opinion