Ex parte V.G.

• Decision Date: 06 January 2023
• Docket Number: CL-2022-0993,CL-2022-0994
• Parties: Ex parte V.G. In re: K.S. and A.S. v. V.G. CL-2022-0994 Ex parte V.G. In re: K.S. and A.S. v. V.G.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Ex parte V.G.

In re: K.S. and A.S.
v.
V.G.

Ex parte V.G.

In re: K.S. and A.S.
v.
V.G.

CL-2022-0994

Nos. CL-2022-0993, CL-2022-0994

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

January 6, 2023

Lee Juvenile Court, JU-18-296.02, JU-18-297.02

PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

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THOMPSON, Presiding Judge.

On November 5, 2018, the Lee Juvenile Court ("the juvenile court") entered judgments finding two minor children ("the children"), whose parents are J.S. ("the mother") and J.L. ("the father"), dependent. The actions in which those judgments were entered had been assigned case number JU-18-296.01 and case number JU-18-297.01 in the juvenile court. At the time of the entry of the two November 5, 2018, dependency judgments, the father was deceased. In those judgments, the juvenile court awarded custody of the children to their paternal aunt, V.G. ("the aunt"), and awarded the mother certain rights of visitation with the children.

In June 2022, K.S. and A.S. ("the maternal grandparents") filed in the juvenile court, in actions assigned case number JU-18-296.02 and case number JU-18-297.02, petitions seeking an award of "grandparent

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visitation" with the children. In their petitions, the maternal grandparents alleged that the mother was incarcerated and that, although they had visited with the children since the children had been placed in the aunt's custody, the aunt had placed unreasonable restrictions on their recent attempts to visit the children.

The aunt filed in each action a motion to dismiss the maternal grandparents' petitions, arguing that the maternal grandparents had asserted claims under the Grandparent Visitation Act ("the GVA"), § 303-4.2, Ala. Code 1975, which allows a grandparent to seek an award of visitation with his or her grandchild under certain circumstances. In her motions to dismiss, the aunt argued that the GVA did not authorize the maternal grandparents' claims under the facts of these cases. The juvenile court conducted a hearing on the motions to dismiss.

On August 30, 2022, the juvenile court entered orders denying the aunt's motions to dismiss but continuing the matters until the mother could be served. The aunt filed these petitions for a writ of mandamus.

"Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy. An appellate court will grant a petition for a writ of mandamus only when '(1) the petitioner has a clear legal right to the relief sought; (2) the respondent has an imperative duty to perform and has refused to do so; (3) the petitioner has no

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