In Re SNW

912 So. 2d 368, 2005 WL 2467056
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 7, 2005
Docket2D05-996
StatusPublished

This text of 912 So. 2d 368 (In Re SNW) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re SNW, 912 So. 2d 368, 2005 WL 2467056 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

912 So.2d 368 (2005)

In the Interest of S.N.W., a child.
Adoption Miracles, LLC, Appellant,
v.
S.C.W. and Department of Children and Family Services, Appellees.

No. 2D05-996.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

October 7, 2005.

*369 Elizabeth S. Wheeler of Berg & Wheeler, P.A., Brandon, for Appellant.

No appearance for Appellee S.C.W.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Tanya E. DiFilippo, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee Department of Children and Family Services.

ALTENBERND, Judge.

Adoption Miracles, LLC, a licensed child-placing agency pursuant to section 63.202, Florida Statutes (2004), and therefore an adoption entity pursuant to section 63.032(3), Florida Statutes (2004), seeks review of an order denying its motion to intervene in a dependency proceeding regarding the child, S.N.W. The order also set aside the birth mother's consent to the adoption of S.N.W. through Adoption Miracles. *370 Adoption Miracles filed this case as an original proceeding, seeking either a writ for mandamus, prohibition, or certiorari. We conclude the order is a final order as to Adoption Miracles and thus subject to appeal. See M.A.M. v. Viscount, 848 So.2d 1258 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Citibank, N.A. v. Blackhawk Heating & Plumbing Co., 398 So.2d 984 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Because the Department of Children and Family Services concedes that the trial court was required to permit Adoption Miracles to intervene pursuant to section 63.082(6)(b), Florida Statutes (2004), we reverse.[1] Further, as the Department appears to acknowledge, the birth mother's consent to the adoption of S.N.W. could not be set aside without notice to Adoption Miracles and an appropriate evidentiary basis to establish the consent was obtained by fraud or duress. See § 63.082(4)(b). This case demonstrates the need for procedural mechanisms to ensure cooperation and coordination between circuit courts when a child is the subject of a dependency in one division of the circuit court and the subject of a private adoption in another division or circuit. Cf. § 63.022(5), Fla. Stat. (2004) (indicating legislative intent to provide for cooperation between private adoption entities and the Department in matters relating to permanent placement options for children in the care of the Department when the birth parents wish to participate in a private adoption plan with a qualified family).

S.C.W. is the birth mother of S.N.W., an infant who apparently tested positive for cocaine upon her birth in November 2004. The Department sheltered the infant almost immediately after birth and initiated this dependency proceeding. An arraignment hearing was held on December 13, 2004, at which S.C.W. was appointed counsel and entered a denial of dependency. An adjudicatory hearing was scheduled for January 13, 2005.[2]

In late December the birth mother, apparently without the knowledge of the Department or the counsel appointed to represent her in the dependency proceeding, contacted Adoption Miracles. She selected prospective adoptive parents from Adoption Miracles' records and executed a consent to the adoption of S.N.W. through Adoption Miracles. The consent specifically provided, among other things, that S.C.W. understood (1) that she could consult with an attorney prior to signing the form; (2) that she did not need to sign the form; and (3) that she was not threatened, coerced, or intimidated to execute the consent, nor was she under any undue influence, duress, or improper pressure to sign the same. Further, the consent provided:

I understand that, if I wish to revoke my consent because I believe that my consent was obtained by fraud or duress, I must:
A. Notify Adoption Miracles, by writing a letter, that I wish to withdraw my consent; and
B. Prove in court that the consent was obtained by fraud or duress.

Prior to the adjudicatory hearing in the dependency proceeding, Adoption Miracles filed a petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption. See § 63.087, Fla. Stat. (2004). The petition was not filed within the dependency proceeding, although it disclosed that there was a pending dependency action in the juvenile division of the circuit court. Rather, pursuant to local rule, this action was filed in the East Division of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, a *371 division handling general civil, probate, and family law cases. It appears that Adoption Miracles included with its initial filings a motion for approval of placement of the child with the prospective adoptive parents and the preliminary favorable home study of the prospective adoptive parents. See § 63.092(3), Fla. Stat. (2004). On January 10, 2005, the judge assigned to East Division entered an order approving the placement of the child with the prospective adoptive parents and providing "they shall be named court-ordered temporary custodians of the minor pending finalization of [the adoption] proceedings." Because the birth mother had waived her right to notice of the adoption proceedings when she consented to the adoption, it is not clear if a hearing was held regarding the entry of this order. However, this order was not enforced, presumably due to the pending dependency proceedings.

Meanwhile, on January 7, 2005, Adoption Miracles filed a request to intervene in the dependency action and to dismiss the action and terminate the jurisdiction of the dependency court. Adoption Miracles attached to its motion a copy of the mother's consent to the adoption, a copy of the petition for termination of parental rights pursuant to an adoption, and a copy of the favorable preliminary home study of the prospective adoptive parents. Adoption Miracles' motion was then heard at the adjudicatory hearing previously scheduled for January 13, 2005. No issues other than the adjudication of dependency and Adoption Miracles' motion were noticed to be heard at this hearing.

No testimony was taken at the adjudicatory hearing. However, the birth mother indicated she no longer desired to consent to an adoption of the child, and her appointed counsel expressed concern that Adoption Miracles had permitted the birth mother to sign the consent without having the birth mother consult with appointed counsel. An attorney representing foster parents who had sheltered the child appeared and also expressed concern regarding the consent signed by the birth mother, although the attorney acknowledged the foster parents were not parties to, or participants in, the dependency proceeding.

The trial court denied Adoption Miracles' motion to intervene. The court also set aside the birth mother's consent to adoption, noting only that counsel for the birth mother in the dependency proceeding had not been advised of the documents or of the birth mother's intent to sign them. Because dependency proceedings are confidential, Adoption Miracles is unsure of the current status of the dependency proceeding, and no subsequent documents from that proceeding are in our record. It appears, however, that the trial court intended to proceed with the dependency, and the Department intended to offer the birth mother a case plan for reunification with the child.

Section 63.082(6) specifically provides:

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Related

Santosky v. Kramer
455 U.S. 745 (Supreme Court, 1982)
CITIBANK, NA v. Blackhawk Heating
398 So. 2d 984 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1981)
R.W.W. v. State, Department of Children & Families
788 So. 2d 1020 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2001)
M.A.M. v. Viscount
848 So. 2d 1258 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2003)
Adoption Miracles, LLC v. S.C.W.
912 So. 2d 368 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
912 So. 2d 368, 2005 WL 2467056, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-snw-fladistctapp-2005.