Clark v. Huffer (In re MKH)

• Decision Date: 27 October 2016
• Docket Number: S–16–0062
• Citation: 2016 WY 103,382 P.3d 1096
• Parties: In the Matter of the Guardianship of MKH, Minor Child. Brenda Clark, Appellant (Respondent), v. Aaron Huffer, Appellee (Petitioner).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

382 P.3d 1096

2016 WY 103

In the Matter of the Guardianship of MKH, Minor Child.Brenda Clark, Appellant (Respondent),

v.Aaron Huffer, Appellee (Petitioner).

S–16–0062

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

October 27, 2016

Representing Appellant: Rhonda S. Woodard of Wolf, Tiedeken & Woodard, PC; and Susan Feinman, Law Office of Susan L. Feinman, Cheyenne, WY. Argument by Ms. Woodard.

Representing Appellee: Bernard Q. Phelan, Cheyenne, WY.

Before BURKE, C.J., and HILL, DAVIS, FOX, and KAUTZ, JJ.

HILL, Justice.

[¶1] Brenda Clark, the grandmother and court-appointed guardian of MKH, appeals a district court decision vacating her 2005 and 2006 guardianship appointments. The district court declared the guardianship orders void for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the original order appointed Ms. Clark guardian of MKH before the child was born. We reverse.

ISSUES

[¶2] Ms. Clark states the issues on appeal as follows:

1. In March 2005, did the district court have subject matter jurisdiction to enter the Order Appointing Guardian for an unborn child who was due to be born within a few weeks?

2. If the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction when the Order Appointing Guardian was entered, is the 2006 Order Extending Guardianship , which was entered after the birth of MKH, in effect?

FACTS

[¶3] On February 23, 2005, Brenda Clark filed a Petition for Appointment of Guardian in the district court for Laramie County. The petition requested that the court appoint Ms. Clark to be the guardian of her unborn granddaughter “from the time the proposed ward is born until further order of the Court.” In support of the request, the petition recited, in part:

1. The proposed ward, [Baby H], will be born sometime during the next six weeks and will be a minor under the laws of this State.

2. The proposed ward cannot reside with his or her natural mother, Stephanie L. Urbigkit, as she is incarcerated at Laramie County Detention Center, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Stephanie L. Urbigkit's consent to the appointment of the Petitioner as guardian of the proposed ward will be filed herein.

3. The proposed ward cannot reside with his or her natural father, Aaron J. Huffer, [home address omitted], as he is unable and unwilling to assume the responsibility of caring for a newborn child. Aaron J. Huffer's consent to the appointment of the Petitioner as guardian of the proposed ward will be filed herein.

4. The Petitioner is Stephanie L. Urbigkit's mother and will be the maternal grandmother of the proposed ward. The Petitioner resides at [street address omitted], Cheyenne, Wyoming.

[¶4] On the same date the guardianship petition was filed, Aaron J. Huffer (hereinafter Father) and Stephanie L. Urbigkit (hereinafter Mother) each filed a Consent to Appointment of Guardian. Father's consent stated, “I hereby consent to the appointment of the baby's maternal grandmother, Brenda K. Clark, as guardian of the person of the proposed ward from the time he or she is born until further order of the Court.” Mother's consent similarly stated, “I hereby consent to the appointment of my mother, Brenda K. Clark, as guardian of the person of the proposed ward from the time he or she is born until further order of the Court.”

[¶5] On March 2, 2005, the district court, the Hon. Dan Spangler presiding, entered an Order Appointing Guardian. The order recited the following findings:

1. [Baby H] will be born to Stephanie L. Urbigkit sometime during the next six weeks.

2. Stephanie L. Urbigkit is a resident of Laramie County, Wyoming and, at the time of his or her birth, [Baby H] will also be a resident of Laramie County, Wyoming.

3. At the time of his or her birth, [Baby H] will be a minor under the laws of this State.

4. [Baby H] has no legally appointed guardian or conservator.

5. A guardian of the person should be appointed for [Baby H].

6. [Baby H's] natural mother, Stephanie L. Urbigkit, is currently incarcerated at the Laramie County Detention Center, Cheyenne, Wyoming. She has consented to having Brenda K. Clark, the Petitioner herein, appointed as guardian of the person of [Baby H] from the time [of] his or her birth. Said consent has been filed herein.

7. [Baby H's] natural father, Aaron J. Huffer, has also consented to having Brenda K. Clark, the Petitioner herein, appointed as guardian of the person of [Baby H]. Said consent has been filed herein.

8. Brenda K. Clark is a fit and proper person to serve as guardian of the person of [Baby H].

[¶6] Following the recitation of findings relating to the need for a guardian, the Order Appointing Guardian directed that: “Brenda K. Clark be, and she hereby is, appointed guardian of the person of [Baby H].” On the same day the Order Appointing Guardian was entered, the district court also entered a supplemental order detailing the guardian's reporting obligations and the types of duties assumed by the guardian with her appointment.

[¶7] In 2005, Baby H was born and given the name MKH. On June 6, 2005, Father's aunt, Darlene Trejo–Caine, filed a motion to set aside the order appointing Ms. Clark as guardian of MKH. Ms. Trejo–Caine alleged that she had been appointed as temporary guardian of MKH's siblings and that she was the more suitable person to be appointed as MKH's guardian. Ms. Clark responded to the motion, stating, in part:

6. On March 16, 2004, Darlene Trejo–Caine was appointed as temporary guardianship (sic) of the ward's siblings. She allowed her appointments to expire and moved the ward's siblings into hiding. She moved the Court for extensions of the guardianships of the ward's siblings only after Brenda K. Clark petitioned the Court for guardianship of the ward's siblings after Darlene Trejo–Caine's temporary guardianship of them had expired and she had moved them into hiding. * * *

7. * * * At this time, motions are pending in the guardianship matters of the ward's siblings to have Brenda K. Clark appointed as guardian of the ward's siblings and the children's parents have filed their consents to said appointments therein.

[¶8] On August 23, 2005, in response to these motions, the district court, the Hon. Peter G. Arnold presiding, appointed a guardian ad litem who served as guardian ad litem for all three children. On February 21, 2006, the guardian ad litem submitted a report to the court recommending that Ms. Clark be appointed as MKH's permanent guardian, and that Ms. Trejo–Caine be appointed as permanent guardian of MKH's two siblings. On May 3, 2006, the district court, the Hon. Peter G. Arnold still presiding, entered an Order Extending Guardianship, which directed that “[t]he appointment of Brenda K. Clark as guardian of the person of [MKH] shall be extended until further order of the Court or the need for the appointment no longer exists.”

[¶9] The 2006 Order Extending Guardianship was a comprehensive order, detailing over the course of five pages the district court's findings concerning the need for the guardianship of MKH and the guardian's obligations and powers. The order summarized the need for the guardianship in its first two findings:

1. [MKH] is a resident of Laramie County, Wyoming and is a minor under the laws of this State.

2. Neither of the ward's natural parents is able to care for her due to their use of illegal drugs and their related illegal activities.

[¶10] The record contains no record of any further action on the guardianship of MKH until late 2012. On November 28, 2012, Father filed a Petition to Terminate Guardianship. As grounds for the petition, Father alleged that his circumstances had changed, he was fit to have custody of MKH, and there was no longer a need for the guardianship of MKH. Ms. Clark opposed the petition, but before any ruling could be made on the petition, the court, still the Hon. Peter G. Arnold presiding, ordered the withdrawal of Mr. Huffer's attorney on grounds he had an apparent conflict of interest in representing Mr. Huffer. The order removing Mr. Huffer's attorney was entered on April 3, 2013, and the court also vacated the hearing that had been set on the petition to allow Mr. Huffer time to retain new counsel.

[¶11] The record again reflects no action on the guardianship of MKH until 2014. On August 14, 2014, Father filed a Petition for an Order Vacating “Order Appointing Guardian” as Void Ab Initio ; or, in the Alternative, that the Guardianship Be Terminated. On September 4, 2014, Ms. Clark filed her response to the petition and requested that the petition be denied. Mother also filed a response to the petition and requested that the petition be denied or in the alternative, if the court found grounds to terminate the petition, that she be awarded custody of MKH.

[¶12] On June 11, 2015, several months after filing his petition to vacate the 2005 order, Father filed a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. By his motion, Father argued the district court did not have jurisdiction to enter its 2005 order appointing Ms. Clark as MKH's guardian because MKH was not yet born and he requested that the 2005 order be declared void and that MKH be returned to her natural parents. Ms. Clark opposed the motion, arguing that the court had subject matter jurisdiction when it entered the 2005 order and, alternatively, that the 2006 order ratified the 2005 order.

[¶13] On January 5, 2016, the district court, the Hon. Catherine R. Rogers presiding, entered an order granting Father's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The court reasoned:

Father is correct in his assertion that the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter the 2005 ORDER ESTABLISHING GUARDIAN . Neither “ward” nor “minor”, as those terms are defined in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 3–1–101, explicitly applies to unborn children. “Ward” is simply an individual for whom a guardian or conservator has been appointed. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 3–1–101(xv). “Minor” means an unemancipated individual under the age of majority, that is, eighteen (18) years old. Wyo. Stat. Ann. 3–1–101(xvi). It is

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