State Ex Rel. Bb

2002 UT App 82, 45 P.3d 527, 2002 WL 432937
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedMarch 21, 2002
Docket20000949-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 2002 UT App 82 (State Ex Rel. Bb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Bb, 2002 UT App 82, 45 P.3d 527, 2002 WL 432937 (Utah Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

45 P.3d 527 (2002)
2002 UT App 82

STATE of Utah, in the interest of B.B., a person under eighteen years of age.
K.S. and K.S., Appellants,
v.
S.H. and G.H., Appellees.

No. 20000949-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

March 21, 2002.

*528 Brook J. Sessions, Harris & Carter, Provo, for Appellants.

Leslie W. Slaugh, Howard Lewis & Petersen, Provo, for Appellees.

Martha Pierce, Salt Lake City, Guardian Ad Litem.

Before BILLINGS, Associate P.J., and GREENWOOD, and ORME, JJ.

OPINION

GREENWOOD, Judge:

¶ 1 K.S and K.S. (the Parents) are the adoptive parents of B.B. They appeal a juvenile *529 court order asserting jurisdiction to enforce a pre-adoption visitation order issued in favor of S.H. and G.H., B.B.'s biological maternal grandparents (the Grandparents), after the Parents adopted B.B. The Parents also appeal the juvenile court's order awarding attorney fees to the Grandparents. Because we conclude the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction, we reverse both orders.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 The parental rights of B.B.'s biological mother and father were terminated after the juvenile court determined B.B. was a neglected child. The Parents[1] and the Grandparents filed competing petitions for custody and guardianship of B.B. To resolve the dispute, the Grandparents agreed to withdraw their petition and allow the Parents to obtain custody in exchange for visitation rights. The Grandparents also agreed to support the Parents' adoption of B.B. The juvenile court then entered an order establishing a visitation schedule (the Pre-adoption Visitation Order) stipulated to by the parties. Seventeen days later, the juvenile court granted the Parents' adoption petition. The adoption decree did not mention the Pre-adoption Visitation Order or visitation in any form for the Grandparents.

¶ 3 After the Parents adopted B.B., they initially allowed the Grandparents to exercise visitation as specified in the Pre-adoption Visitation Order. Out of concern for B.B., however, the Parents terminated B.B.'s visits with the Grandparents. The Grandparents then filed an Order to Show Cause requiring the Parents to appear in juvenile court to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for not abiding by the Pre-adoption Visitation Order. The Parents filed a Motion to Quash the Order to Show Cause, claiming the juvenile court's jurisdiction ended when it granted the Parents' petition for adoption. The juvenile court denied the Motion to Quash and entered two separate orders: (1) Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law & Order (the Visitation Order); and (2) Order of Attorney Fees and Judgment (the Attorney Fee Order). The Visitation Order asserted jurisdiction and granted the Grandparents visitation rights pursuant to the stipulated Pre-adoption Visitation Order. The Attorney Fee Order required the Parents to pay the Grandparents' attorney fees incurred for the Order to Show Cause. This appeal followed.

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 4 The Grandparents argue that the Visitation Order is not final; thus denying this court jurisdiction. We determine whether an order is final as a matter of law. See In re M.W., 2000 UT 79, ¶¶ 23-26, 12 P.3d 80. The Grandparents also contend that the Parents' appeal of the Attorney Fee Order was not adequately raised in the Parents' Notice of Appeal. We determine whether the Notice of Appeal is adequate to grant this court jurisdiction as a matter of law. See Jensen v. Intermountain Power Agency, 1999 UT 10, ¶ 7, 977 P.2d 474.

¶ 5 The Parents and the guardian ad litem argue the juvenile court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter the Visitation Order subsequent to the adoption decree. Whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law that we review for correctness. See Burns Chiropractic Clinic v. Allstate Ins. Co., 851 P.2d 1209, 1211 (Utah Ct.App.1993). The Parents also argue that because the juvenile court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, it should not have awarded attorney fees. In this context, we review the award of attorney fees for correctness. See Campbell v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2001 UT 89, ¶ 13, 432 Utah Adv. Rep. 44.

ANALYSIS

I. Finality of the Visitation Order

¶ 6 The Grandparents argue this court lacks jurisdiction because the Visitation Order was not a final order. The Visitation Order stated, among other things, that the juvenile court had subject matter jurisdiction to enforce the Pre-adoption Visitation Order, and the Grandparents were entitled to visitation rights as set forth in the Pre-adoption *530 Visitation Order. Subsequent to the Visitation Order, the juvenile court reviewed the Pre-adoption Visitation Order and modified it. Because of these subsequent modifications, the Grandparents argue that the Visitation Order was not a final order. We disagree.

¶ 7 The Court of Appeals has original jurisdiction over appeals from juvenile court. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-3a-909(1) (1996). Rule 3 of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure states: "An appeal may be taken from a ... juvenile court to the appellate court with jurisdiction over the appeal from all final orders and judgments...." Utah R.App. P. 3(a) (emphasis added). Generally, "a judgment is final when it ends the controversy between the parties litigant." Bradbury v. Valencia, 2000 UT 50, ¶ 9, 5 P.3d 649 (citation and quotations omitted). In In re M.W., 2000 UT 79, ¶ 26, 12 P.3d 80, the supreme court held that an order entered after an adjudication hearing on a petition of abuse was final for purposes of appeal. The finality was not affected by the juvenile court's retention of jurisdiction over the juvenile for further proceedings. In so holding, the Utah Supreme Court stated:

The finality of an order in juvenile proceedings is determined the same way as the finality of an order in other courts ... "A final, appealable order is one that ends the current juvenile proceedings, leaving no question open for further judicial action."
....
[T]he juvenile court continues to have jurisdiction over and periodically reviews the case, but that does not mean the ... adjudication is not final.

Id. at ¶¶ 25-26 (citations omitted). Accordingly, even though a juvenile court periodically reviews its orders, the orders may still be final for purposes of appellate review.

¶ 8 The Visitation Order expressly held that the juvenile court had subject matter jurisdiction over B.B., and that the Grandparents were entitled to visitation rights under the Pre-adoption Visitation Order. The hearing subsequent to the issuance of the Visitation Order was merely a review of that order. The Visitation Order resolved the controversy between the parties as raised in the Order to Show Cause concerning the juvenile court's jurisdiction to enforce the Pre-adoption Visitation Order. Because the Visitation Order was final, we have jurisdiction to hear this appeal.[2]

II. Adequacy of the Notice of Appeal

¶ 9 While conceding that the Attorney Fee Order was final for purposes of appeal, the Grandparents argue that because the Parents failed to mention the Attorney Fee Order in their Notice of Appeal, it is not properly before this court.

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Related

Troxel v. Granville
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Bluebook (online)
2002 UT App 82, 45 P.3d 527, 2002 WL 432937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-bb-utahctapp-2002.