J Shepard v. K Ozzello

CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 28, 2009
Docket28,376
StatusUnpublished

This text of J Shepard v. K Ozzello (J Shepard v. K Ozzello) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J Shepard v. K Ozzello, (N.M. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

1 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

2 JEANNETTE and GEORGE SHEPARD,

3 Petitioners-Appellants,

4 v. NO. 28,376

5 KRISTINA MARIE OZZELLO,

6 Respondent-Appellee,

7 and

8 IN THE MATTER OF THE KINSHIP 9 GUARDIANSHIP OF WILLIAM K.,

10 Child.

11 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF GRANT COUNTY 12 H.R. Quintero, District Judge

13 Jeannette and George Shepard 14 Silver City, NM

15 Pro Se Appellants

16 Atencio Law Office PC 17 Kimberly L. Halpain 18 Albuquerque, NM

19 for Appellee 1 MEMORANDUM OPINION 2 ROBLES, Judge.

3 Jeannette and George Shepard (Grandparents) appeal the revocation of a

4 kinship guardianship of William K. (Child). On appeal, Grandparents raise multiple

5 points of error, which we consolidate into six claims: (1) there was inadequate notice

6 and service; (2) the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA),

7 NMSA 1978, § 40-10A-101 (2001), applied to this case; (3) statutory procedure was

8 not followed; (4) the district court applied the wrong standard; (5) there was

9 insufficient evidence; and (6) their due process rights were violated. We address each

10 issue in turn and affirm.

11 I. BACKGROUND

12 In 2004, Kristina Ozzello (Mother) had various problems with drugs and the

13 law. Believing that she was facing mandatory incarceration, Mother signed a

14 document consenting to a kinship guardianship for her four-year-old biological son.

15 She then began drug rehabilitation, secured employment, obtained a residence, and

16 maintained the conditions of her probation. Mother was never incarcerated, but her

17 probation continued. Meanwhile, Child was in the care of Mother’s

18 parents—Grandparents in this appeal—and they became Child’s primary caretakers.

19 The record is not entirely clear how much time Mother spent with Child during those

2 1 several years, but Mother alleges that the contact was continuous and frequent, and

2 Grandparents do not argue otherwise. The record does not state how often Child spent

3 the night at Mother’s home, but Child did spend the night periodically. During the

4 summer of 2007, Grandparents allowed Mother to have Child at her home for periods

5 as long as one week per visit.

6 On August 1, 2007, acting pro se, Mother filed three motions with the district

7 court unbeknownst to Grandparents. The motions were for a revocation of the kinship

8 guardianship, the appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL), and judicially-enforced

9 visitation rights. The next day, Mother filed a request for a hearing, but only

10 requested a hearing on the motions to appoint a GAL and visitation. Copies of all the

11 paperwork were sent to Grandparents. On August 8, the district court issued an order

12 to reopen the case and set a date of September 12, for a hearing on Mother’s motion

13 for revocation of kinship guardianship.

14 On August 17, Grandparents, also acting pro se, filed a motion to dismiss and

15 vacate the hearing or to compel mediation. Notice that Grandparents’ motion to

16 dismiss would be heard with the other pending motions was mailed by the district

17 court. Three days later, Mother filed and mailed a response, stating that she did not

3 1 object to the request for mediation, but that she did still wish to have a hearing “for

2 the purpose of appointing a [GAL] and setting a visitation schedule.”

3 On the date of the hearing, the district court began the proceedings by stating:

4 “We are here on [Mother’s] motion to terminate the guardianship and [Grandparent’s]

5 response and the request for mediation by one of the parties.” After an opening

6 statement, Mother presented five witnesses, including her probation officer, her

7 substance abuse counselor, and her employer of the previous three years, all of which

8 testified to matters concerning either her sobriety, her hard work and reform, or her

9 strong desire to be permanently reunited with Child. Grandparents stated that they did

10 not have any witnesses because they thought the scope of the hearing was on a motion

11 to dismiss, the appointment of a GAL, and a visitation schedule. Grandparents again

12 moved to dismiss and, in the alternative, requested mandatory mediation and for

13 Mother to amend her petition, which they felt was statutorily insufficient. The district

14 court denied the motion to dismiss and ruled that the evidence was clear and

15 convincing, and that the circumstances that led to the kinship guardianship were no

16 longer present. The district court then ordered both parties into mandatory mediation,

17 ordered each party to make a best and worst case scenario transition plan to bring to

18 the mediation, and appointed a parenting coordinator to conduct interviews and write

4 1 a report for the court. The district court stated that it was the hope that mediation

2 would help, but that the ultimate result as “the evidence stands now” would be the

3 termination of the kinship guardianship, and that an order to terminate the kinship

4 guardianship would not be entered “until there has been a mediation.” The following

5 day, the district court entered an order with findings that stated that Mother was now

6 in a position to assume her parental rights, and that it was in Child’s best interest to

7 be transitioned back into Mother’s care. On the same day, the district court entered

8 another order, holding that a final hearing on the merits would not be set until the

9 ordered mediation was completed, and no transition plan would be approved until

10 mediation was completed.

11 Following the hearing on September 12, 2007, Grandparents hired an attorney,

12 who promptly filed a motion to set aside, stating that Grandparents believed that the

13 previous hearing would not encompass revocation of the kinship guardianship, and

14 that a GAL was not appointed as statutorily mandated. They requested the district

15 court to appoint a GAL and to set aside portions of the order that were not addressed

16 in Mother’s request for hearing. A second hearing was requested and set for October

17 30. At that hearing, Grandparents requested a GAL be appointed. The district court,

18 citing financial concerns for the pro se parties, noted that a court- employed, parenting

19 coordinator had already been appointed as an accommodation/alternative method

5 1 whose services would duplicate those of a GAL. The district court, however, did give

2 a copy of the parenting coordinator’s report to Grandparents, appointed a GAL, and

3 responding to Grandparents’ attorney’s assurances, remained hopeful that the parties

4 could work out their differences through mediation. The district court then set an

5 evidentiary hearing for December 6 on Grandparents’ motion to set aside. At the

6 hearing of December 6, 2007, the GAL was not present, but his report was given to

7 the district court and all parties prior to the hearing. No objection was raised

8 concerning the GAL’s absence, and Grandparents’ attorney stated that his clients were

9 “basically . . . in agreement” with the parenting coordinator’s and the GAL’s reports.

10 The record reflects that the GAL interviewed Mother’s probation officer, Child’s

11 health care provider, school counselor, and therapist, as well as visited Grandparents’

12 and Mother’s homes when Child was present.

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