A.N. v. B.N.

203 So. 3d 1234
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedFebruary 19, 2016
Docket2140818
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 203 So. 3d 1234 (A.N. v. B.N.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.N. v. B.N., 203 So. 3d 1234 (Ala. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

THOMAS, Judge.

B.N. (“the father”) seeks review of an order entered by the Madison Juvenile Court (“the juvenile court”) on June 22, 2015. This is the second time the parties have been before this court. See B.N. v. Madison Cnty. Dep’t of Human Res., 151 So.3d 1115 (Ala.Civ.App.2014)(“the previous appeal”).

In the previous appeal, this court set out the following relevant facts and procedural history.

“The father and K.D. (‘the mother’), who were residents of Mississippi, were divorced in January 2011 by a judgment (‘the divorce judgment’) of the Chancery Court of Marion County, Mississippi (‘the Mississippi court’). The divorce judgment granted the mother sole physical custody of the parties’ child. The divorce judgment also provided that, because the father was incarcerated at the time, the child’s paternal grandparents were granted the father’s right to visitation and that, upon the father’s release, he would assume his right to visitation, which would be supervised by the paternal grandparents.
“The record indicates that the mother moved with the child from Mississippi to Madison County, Alabama, in April 2012. The record further indicates that the mother married J.D. sometime after she moved to Alabama. The paternal grandparents assert that they were unaware of the child’s location until they received information that the child was hospitalized in the intensive-care unit of Huntsville Hospital. The paternal grandparents and the Madison County Department of Human Resources (‘DHR’) assert that J.D. had physically abused the child. Information in the record indicates that J.D. and the mother were arrested for felony child abuse. DHR placed the child with A.G., the mother’s brother, and E.G., A.G.’s wife (referred to collectively as ‘the custodians’), as part of a safety plan after the child was released from the hospital. [1237]*1237The custodians are residents of Madison County.
“On September 24, 2012, the paternal grandparents filed a petition for temporary custody in the juvenile court in which they asserted that they were the proper parties to have custody of the child and that they had concerns regarding whether the custodians were fit to have custody. That petition was assigned case no. JU-12-860.01 (‘the paternal grandparents’ action’). They further asserted that the petition was filed pursuant to § 30-3B-204, Ala.Code 1975, a part of Alabama’s version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (‘the UCCJEA’), § 30-3B-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975.
“The custodians filed a motion to intervene and a petition for custody in the paternal grandparents’ action on October 12, 2012, in which they alleged that the child was dependent and that they were the proper parties to be awarded custody. The paternal grandparents filed a motion for an immediate penden-te lite hearing on October 30, 2012. The paternal grandparents then, on November 5, 2012, filed a motion to stay the proceedings in the juvenile court and to enforce an order from Mississippi court. Attached to that motion was an order of the Mississippi court, entered on November 1, 2012, granting the paternal grandparents an ‘ex parte emergency protective order for child custody without notice’ (‘the Mississippi order’).1
“DHR filed a motion to intervene in the paternal grandparents’ action on November 5, 2012. On that same day, DHR filed a petition in the juvenile court in which it alleged that the child was dependent; that petition was assigned case no. JU-12-860.02 (‘the DHR action’). A shelter-care hearing was held before a referee on November 5, 2012, in the DHR action; the mother and her attorney, in addition to Janika Crum, the DHR worker assigned to this case, and Corrie Collins, the child’s guardian ad litem, were present at that hearing. According to the report of the referee, the parties present at the hearing stipulated that the child was dependent, and the referee recommended that DHR assume custody of the child and that DHR be granted the authority to place the child with the custodians.
“On November 8, 2012, the paternal grandparents filed a motion to vacate the shelter-care order of the referee in the DHR action. On November 16, 2012, the juvenile court entered two separate orders ratifying the findings and recommendations of the referee and scheduling a custody hearing for December 13, 2012. The juvenile court also entered an order granting DHR’s motion to intervene in the paternal grandparents’ action, denying the custodians’ motion to intervene in the paternal grandparents’ action, continuing the safety plan pursuant to which the custodians retained custody of the child, and further providing that
“ ‘[consistent with the requirements of the [UCCJEA] this Court communicated with the [Mississippi court] on November 2 and November 5, 2012, regarding the instant matter. The Juvenile Court of Madison County, Alabama shall exercise jurisdiction over this matter.’
“The paternal grandparents filed a motion to intervene in the DHR action on November 19, 2012; on November 26, 2012, the paternal grandparents amended their petition for custody, asserting that the mother and J.D. had been arrested for child abuse. On December 7, 2012, the father filed a motion to intervene in the paternal grandparents’ action and requested that an [1238]*1238attorney be appointed for him.2 The guardian ad litem and DHR filed their respective reports, which are included in the- record, to the juvenile court on December 10, 2012; ■ both reports recommended that custody of the child remain with the custodians,
“After a hearing on December 10, 2012, at which the juvenile court heard only arguments of counsel, the juvenile court entered an order on January 14, 2013, finding the child dependent. The juvenile court awarded DHR legal custody of the child and adopted DHR’s permanent plan for the child, which was ‘return to parent with concurrent plan of relative placement.’ The juvenile court also denied the paternal grandparents’ petition to intervene in the DHR action, but it stated from the bench that the paternal grandparents’ action and the DHR action would be consolidated.3 DHR filed a motion to amend the January 14, 2013, order on January 28, 2013, in which it asserted that the order should have awarded custody of the child to the custodians rather than to DHR. The juvenile court entered an order on January 30, 2013, setting a hearing for March 22, 2013. On March 19, 2013, the juvenile court entered an amended order awarding legal custody of the child to the custodians.
“The" father filed an affidavit of indi-gency on March 18, 2013, and an attorney was appointed for him on March 22, 2013. After a hearing on March 22, 2013, at which the juvenile court heard only arguments of counsel, the juvenile court entered an order retaining jurisdiction of the matter, denying the paternal grandparents’ motion to stay all proceedings, setting the matter for review on April 4, 2013, and scheduling an evi-dentiary hearing for May 3, 2013. The juvenile court also entered an order on permanency and legal custody on that same day.

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Bluebook (online)
203 So. 3d 1234, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/an-v-bn-alacivapp-2016.