In re S.G. CA2/7

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 2026
DocketB335255
StatusUnpublished

This text of In re S.G. CA2/7 (In re S.G. CA2/7) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re S.G. CA2/7, (Cal. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

Filed 4/6/26 In re S.G. CA2/7 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SEVEN

In re S.G., a Person Coming Under B335255, B339878 the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 23CCJP02840A)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff,

v.

P.G.,

Defendant and Appellant,

J.B.,

Respondent. APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mark A. Davis, Judge. B335255 dismissed as moot; B339878 is affirmed. Michelle D. Peña, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. California Appellate Project, Jennifer Peabody and Kristie A. Lutz, for Respondent. No appearance for Plaintiff. ________________________

INTRODUCTION

This case involves overlapping orders from the juvenile court and the family court relating to minor S.G. (born 2023). Father P.G. (Father) appeals the juvenile court’s December 2023 and February 2024 orders regarding visitation and custody of his son S.G., which the court tried to align with restraining orders issued by the family court. He also appeals from the juvenile court’s July 2024 orders terminating jurisdiction and issuing custody and visitation orders. In the first appeal, case number B335255, Father contends temporary and permanent domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs) against him issued by the family court were purportedly void because the juvenile court had exclusive jurisdiction during the family’s dependency proceedings. He argues the juvenile court’s orders aligning with the family court’s restraining orders were erroneous and prejudicial. In the second appeal, case number B339878, Father argues the juvenile court’s exit order inappropriately relied on the family court’s restraining order, and the juvenile court abused its discretion by ordering joint legal and

2 physical custody with equal parenting time, but with primary physical residence designation to Mother. Mother J.B. (Mother), as respondent, contends Father’s first appeal is moot because the parents now share joint custody of S.G.1 Mother also argues it was not an abuse of discretion for the juvenile court to designate primary residence to Mother in its exit order. We agree Father’s appeal from the December 2023 and February 2024 orders is moot and dismiss the first appeal. We affirm the juvenile court’s order terminating jurisdiction and its exit order.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. The Dependency Petition and Family Court Restraining Orders On August 23, 2023, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (Department) filed a juvenile court petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b)(1),2 alleging S.G. was at risk of serious physical harm due to a history of “violent altercations” and mutual domestic violence between his parents, who were living together at the time in Glendale. S.G. remained released to both parents.

1 The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services filed letter briefs in both appeals stating it took no position on Father’s appeals. 2 Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

3 The petition was preceded by domestic violence incidents in which each parent alleged the other was the primary aggressor and called law enforcement. Father obtained an emergency protective order against Mother as a result of an incident in July 2023. Mother was arrested in June 2023 and again on September 9, 2023, after altercations between the parents. On September 27, 2023, while the dependency petition was pending, Mother filed in family court a request for a DVRO protecting her and S.G. from Father and requiring Father to move out. The family court granted Mother a temporary restraining order the same day and ordered Father to move out of the family apartment, but crossed out S.G. as a protected party. The family court attached a child custody and visitation order ordering sole legal and physical custody to Mother, with monitored visitation for Father. On October 1, Father moved to Georgia to live with relatives. On October 18, the family court held a hearing and granted Mother a permanent DVRO against Father, which included S.G. as a protected party, effective through October 2026. Father attended the permanent restraining order hearing. The family court attached a child custody and visitation order ordering sole legal and physical custody to Mother, with no visitation for Father until further order of the court.

B. Dependency Proceedings October 2023 to February 2024 On October 25, 2023, the juvenile court held the jurisdiction and disposition hearing. The court and counsel noted the existence of the family court permanent restraining order. S.G.’s counsel requested release to Mother, with monitored visitation for Father. Mother’s counsel requested release to

4 Mother and for Father’s visitation to happen “through a third party” and to “abide by the current restraining order.” The Department argued S.G. should be detained from Father and released to Mother, noting there was now a permanent restraining order against Father, but stated “[o]f course, this court is its own trier of fact and independent” with regard to custody and the restraining order. Father’s counsel agreed “this family needs to be separated,” but requested S.G. be released to both parents, “with appropriate measures of parents living apart and unannounced home visits, family preservation, and abiding by all appropriate restraining orders.” Father’s counsel stated Father would “abide by all appropriate restraining orders,” but argued the juvenile court “actually . . . has jurisdiction.” Father’s counsel noted the initial temporary restraining order crossed out S.G. as a protected party, and argued that because the permanent restraining order had no requirement of monitored visits, the court could release S.G. to Father. The juvenile court sustained the petition as to both parents and ordered S.G. released to both parents. The court stated: “It’s clear to me that this is a toxic relationship just as pled in the petition. It sounds like a couple that doesn’t need to be together, at least at this stage of their lives. There’s lots of domestic violence and just toxicity between the two of them, and I can’t tell who is the aggressor.” The court ordered the Department “to make a written custody schedule that is aligned with the protective order that is currently in place,” “[t]hat doesn’t limit Father’s ability to make his visitation or custody clear for the

5 record,” and “that makes sense for all parties in light of the home of parents order.”3 On December 20, 2023, Father moved ex parte in the juvenile court to modify the permanent restraining order to remove S.G. On December 21, Mother’s attorney argued the request to change the order was improper because the juvenile court had already ordered compliance with the restraining order. Father’s counsel argued, “this is a legal inconsistency that needs to be fixed. ¶ The home of parents order is conflicting with the family law restraining order that Mother filed during this case when family law court does not have jurisdiction. She should have filed it through this court.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
In re S.G. CA2/7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sg-ca27-calctapp-2026.