C.C., FATHER OF L.A., A CHILD v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Opinion

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA

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Case No. 6D23-1357

Lower Tribunal No. 2017-DP-000117-SH

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In the Interest of L.A., a child.

C.C., Appellant,

v.

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,

Appellee.

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Appeal from the Circuit Court for Osceola County.

Laura Shaffer, Judge.

April 4, 2024

WOZNIAK, J.

We withdraw the previous opinion and mandate issued in C.C., Father of L.A.,

a Child v. Department of Children & Families, 47 Fla. L. Weekly D2323 (Fla. 5th

DCA Nov. 14, 2022), and we affirm the trial court’s final order terminating C.C.’s

parental rights to L.A. in accordance with the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion in

2

this case, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office v. C.C., Nos. SC2023-0604, SC2023-

0605, 2024 WL 979471 (Fla. Mar. 7, 2024). 1

AFFIRMED.

TRAVER, C.J., and NARDELLA, J., concur.

Keith Peterson of the Law Offices of Peterson, P.A., Mulberry, and Ryan Thomas Truskoski, of Ryan Thomas Truskoski, P.A., Orlando, for Appellant.

Stephanie C. Zimmerman, Deputy Director and Statewide Director of Appeals, and Kelley Schaeffer, Appellate Counsel, Children’s Legal Services, Bradenton, for Appellee, Department of Children and Families.

Dennis W. Moore, Executive Director, Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, Laura J. Lee, Assistant Director of Appeals, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Tallahassee, and Blake Lynne Bruce, pro bono, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office Defending Best Interests Project, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED

1 This case was originally heard by the Fifth District Court of Appeal, case number 5D22-1476. After the Fifth District released its opinion, the Department of Children and Families and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office each filed a motion for rehearing, rehearing en banc, and certification. While those motions were pending, the case was transferred to this Court on January 1, 2023, and assigned case number 6D23-1357. This Court acted on the pending motions. Thereafter, the Department of Children and Families and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office separately sought discretionary review in the Florida Supreme Court, which consolidated the two appeals for all appellate purposes.