Hurd v. State (In re EMM)

414 P.3d 1157
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 6, 2018
DocketS-17-0194
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 414 P.3d 1157 (Hurd v. State (In re EMM)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hurd v. State (In re EMM), 414 P.3d 1157 (Wyo. 2018).

Opinion

FOX, Justice.

[¶1] Amber Lynn Marie Hurd (Mother) did not respond to the petition of the Department of Family Services (DFS) to terminate her parental rights within 20 days after service. Upon the application of DFS, the clerk of court entered default against Mother. Approximately four months after being served, Mother filed a motion to set aside the entry of default. Mother appeals the district court's denial of her motion. We affirm.

ISSUE

[¶2] We rephrase Mother's single issue as follows: Did the district court abuse its discretion when it determined that Mother had not shown good cause to set aside the entry of default?

FACTS

[¶3] Mother is the natural mother of three children, born in 2008, 2009, and 2011, who have spent the majority of their lives in the care and custody of others. In June 2014, after nearly three years in the guardianship of their grandmother, the children returned to Mother's full-time care. The next month, DFS received a report that Mother and her boyfriend were physically abusing the children and forcing them to stay in a bedroom without food, water, or access to a bathroom. DFS visited Mother's residence and observed severe bruising on two of the children and a paddle on which "A** Beater" and the children's names were written. On August 1, 2014, the juvenile court placed the three children in custody of DFS and thereafter adjudicated Mother as having neglected the children. In a separate proceeding in district court, Mother was convicted of felony child abuse and, after failing to meet the conditions of her probation, was incarcerated at the Wyoming Women's Center.

[¶4] In March 2016, DFS initiated this case by filing in district court a Petition for Termination of Parental Rights against Mother and the fathers of the children.1 DFS personally served the petition and summons on Mother at the Wyoming Women's Center on March 22, 2016. Mother did not file a responsive pleading or otherwise defend the petition within 20 days and, upon DFS's application, the clerk of court entered default against Mother on April 12, 2016. The following week, the district court issued an order setting a default hearing. Copies of the application for entry of default, the entry of default, *1159and the order setting the default hearing were served on Mother by mail.

[¶5] Mother first responded to the termination petition approximately four months after it was personally served on her. In July 2016, Mother mailed letters to the district court and to counsel for DFS asking that the case be put "on hold" and that she be provided court-appointed counsel. The district court vacated the default hearing and provided to Mother the paperwork necessary to obtain court-appointed counsel. Shortly thereafter, Mother's court-appointed attorney entered her appearance, filed a response to the termination petition, and filed a motion to set aside the entry of default.

[¶6] The district court held a hearing on the motion to set aside the entry of default. Mother testified that, prior to receiving the termination petition, the juvenile court had changed the permanency plan from reunification to adoption. Mother stated that she assumed the termination petition was part of the juvenile case. Further, she believed (incorrectly) that she was still represented by counsel in that case. Regardless, upon receiving the termination petition in March 2016, Mother did not attempt to contact her former attorney until July 2016.2

[¶7] The district court found that Mother did not present good cause to set aside the entry of default and denied Mother's motion. After a default evidentiary hearing, the district court terminated Mother's parental rights. Mother timely perfected this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶8] "A district court's determination as to whether good cause exists to set aside an entry of default lies within its sound discretion." In re HLL , 2016 WY 43, ¶ 32, 372 P.3d 185, 192 (Wyo. 2016) (citing In re ARW , 2015 WY 25, ¶ 17, 343 P.3d 407, 412 (Wyo. 2015) ). "We will not disturb that decision unless the district court abused its discretion and was clearly wrong." Id. (citations omitted).

Judicial discretion is made up of many things, including conclusions drawn from objective criteria. It means exercising sound judgment as to what is right under the circumstances, and not acting arbitrarily or capriciously. Multiple Resort Ownership Plan, Inc. [v. Design-Build-Manage, Inc. , 2002 WY 67] , ¶ 10, 45 P.3d [647,] 651 [ (Wyo. 2002) ]. As the proponent of the motion, Mother had the burden of proving that she is entitled to relief. In re ARW , ¶ 17, 343 P.3d at 412.

Id. at ¶ 33.

DISCUSSION

[¶9] Mother contends that the district court's analysis-a three-factor test applied in civil actions to determine whether a defendant has shown "good cause" to set aside default-was unfairly applied in the context of a proceeding for the termination of parental rights. Mother argues that the first factor of the test, prejudice to the plaintiff, will "always" be found in termination of parental rights cases, and therefore the factor test "will never allow an entry of default to be set aside."

[¶10] The grounds to set aside the entry of default in a termination of parental rights case are well established. Because a termination of parental rights proceeding is a civil matter, the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure apply. In re HLL , 2016 WY 43, ¶ 22-24, 372 P.3d at 189-90 (citing Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-312 ). Under W.R.C.P. 55(c), an entry of default may be set aside for "good cause." "Good cause for setting aside an entry of default, pursuant to [W.R.C.P.] 55(c), is to be found in the justifications for relief from a final judgment articulated in [W.R.C.P.] 60(b)." In re HLL , ¶ 34, 372 P.3d at 192 (quoting Fluor Daniel, Inc. v. Seward , 956 P.2d 1131, 1134 (Wyo. 1998) ); see also In re ARW

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Bluebook (online)
414 P.3d 1157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hurd-v-state-in-re-emm-wyo-2018.