Stern v. Stern

839 N.W.2d 96, 2013 WL 5612740, 2013 Minn. App. LEXIS 96
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedOctober 15, 2013
DocketNo. A13-0447
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 839 N.W.2d 96 (Stern v. Stern) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stern v. Stern, 839 N.W.2d 96, 2013 WL 5612740, 2013 Minn. App. LEXIS 96 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

HOOTEN, Judge.

Appellant-grandmother challenges the dismissal of her petition for de facto custody of her grandchildren, arguing that the family court erred by concluding that it had no concurrent jurisdiction to consider the petition because of pending child protection and permanency proceedings in juvenile court and that the dismissal of her petition violated her rights to due process.1 Because the family court correctly dismissed appellant’s petition for lack of concurrent jurisdiction, and because appellant was not denied due process, we affirm.

FACTS

On November 29, 2012, appellant Judy Stern filed a petition to be named the de facto custodian of her two minor grandchildren pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 257C.03. The respondents in this appeal include the Nobles County Family Service Agency (the county), the children’s mother, and the father of each child. At the time of appellant’s petition for de facto custody, the children were under the protective custody of the county in a child in need of protection or services (CHIPS) proceeding. As a result of an emergency protective custody order issued by the juvenile court on September 18, 2012, the children were placed in relative foster care in appellant’s home. Prior to filing the petition for de facto custody in family court, appellant filed a petition in the CHIPS proceeding under Minn.Stat. § 260C.515, subd. 4 (2012), requesting that the juvenile court award her permanent legal and physical custody of the children.

In an amended de facto custody petition filed December 18, 2012, appellant alleged that the grandchildren lived with her for one year or more during the 24 months preceding the filing of the petition and prior to their placement with her as a foster parent in the CHIPS proceeding. In response to her petition, the mother and fathers of the children agreed that appellant had provided consistent care to the children and that it would be in the children’s best interests if appellant were granted full custody of the children. The county moved to dismiss appellant’s petition for de facto custody, arguing that the [99]*99family court lacked concurrent jurisdiction over the children and that appellant was not a de facto custodian.

In response to the county’s motion to dismiss, the family court held that because the juvenile court exercises original and exclusive jurisdiction over the pending CHIPS proceeding, it did not have concurrent jurisdiction over appellant’s amended petition for de facto custody of the children. The family court also concluded that appellant was statutorily ineligible to be a de facto custodian because the children were placed in her home by court order in the CHIPS proceeding. This appeal follows.

ISSUES

I. Did the family court lack concurrent jurisdiction over appellant’s petition for de facto custody of children who were subjects of pending CHIPS and permanency proceedings?

II. Does the lack of concurrent family court jurisdiction over the petition for de facto custody prohibit appellant from seeking permanent custody of the children and, as a result, deny her right to due process?

ANALYSIS

I.

Appellant argues that the family court erred in dismissing her petition for de facto custody on the basis that it lacked concurrent jurisdiction in light of the pending CHIPS and permanency proceedings in juvenile court. When the county’s motion to dismiss appellant’s petition was heard, the county argued that the family court lacked concurrent jurisdiction over appellant’s petition for de facto custody. However, on appeal and in light of the family court’s favorable ruling on the merits in its dismissal motion, the county has joined appellant in maintaining that the family court had concurrent jurisdiction over appellant’s petition for de facto custody. Because the county cannot waive the family court’s lack of concurrent jurisdiction, and because appellant was aggrieved by the family court’s ruling that it lacked concurrent jurisdiction, we will consider this issue on appeal. See Dead Lake Ass’n, Inc. v. Otter Tail Cnty., 695 N.W.2d 129, 134 (Minn.2005) (holding that “lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time by the parties or sua sponte by the court, and cannot be waived by the parties”).

“The existence of subject-matter jurisdiction and a determination of the meaning of statutes addressing subject-matter jurisdiction present legal questions, which this court reviews de novo.” Wareham v. Wareham, 791 N.W.2d 562, 564 (Minn.App.2010). “When interpreting a statute, we first look to see whether the statute’s language, on its face, is clear or ambiguous. A statute is only ambiguous when the language therein is subject to more than one reasonable interpretation.” Am. Family Ins. Grp. v. Schroedl, 616 N.W.2d 273, 277 (Minn.2000) (quotation and citation omitted). “When construing a statute, our goal is to ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature.” Id. at 278. “[W]hen we construe a statute, we read the statute as a whole and turn to statutes relating to the same subject in order that we may avoid conflicting interpretations and give effect to all statutory provisions.” City of St. Paul v. Eldredge, 800 N.W.2d 643, 648 (Minn.2011).

Section 257C.03 sets forth the necessary procedures and standards for an award of de facto custody. “To establish that an individual is a de facto custodian, the individual must ... show by clear and convincing evidence that the individual satisfies the provisions of section 257C.01, subdivi[100]*100sion 2” and “prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it is in the best interests of the child to be in the custody of the de facto custodian.” Minn.Stat. § 257C.03, subd. 6(a) (2012). A “de facto custodian” is defined by statute as:

an individual who has been the primary caretaker for a child who has, within the 24 months immediately preceding the filing of the petition, resided with the individual without a parent present and with a lack of demonstrated consistent participation by a parent for a period of ... one year or more, which need not be consecutive, if the child is three years of age or older.

Minn.Stat. § 257C.01, subd. 2(a)(2) (2012).

In support of her argument that the family court had concurrent jurisdiction to address her petition for de facto custody, appellant points out that while Minn.Stat. § 260C.101, subd. 2 (2012), enumerates specific instances in which “[t]he juvenile court has original and exclusive jurisdiction,” none of the specific instances enumerated include family law proceedings or proceedings to establish de facto custody-

Appellant’s argument ignores the clear and unambiguous statutory language granting jurisdiction to the juvenile court.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
839 N.W.2d 96, 2013 WL 5612740, 2013 Minn. App. LEXIS 96, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stern-v-stern-minnctapp-2013.