People ex rel. E.B.
| Decision Date | 13 October 2022 |
| Docket Number | Court of Appeals No. 21CA1055 |
| Citation | 523 P.3d 988,2022 COA 120 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Appellee, IN the INTEREST OF E.B., a Child, and Concerning Y.B. and R.B., Sr., Intervenors-Appellants. |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Kimberly Sorrells, County Attorney, Sarah Oviatt, Assistant County Attorney, Golden, Colorado, for Appellee
Jeffrey Koy, Lauren Dingboom, Jordan Oates, Guardians Ad Litem
Kurt A. Metsger, Samantha Metsger, Denver, Colorado, for Intervenors-Appellants
Opinion by JUDGE LIPINSKY
¶ 1 Under our state's Children's Code, a relative of a child may seek guardianship and legal custody of the child following termination of the parent-child legal relationship. § 19-3-605(1), C.R.S. 2022. Thus, a child whose ties to a parent are severed through a dependency and neglect proceeding may nonetheless be raised by a family member, such as a grandparent. But before granting guardianship and custody of a child to a relative, a juvenile court must first find that such placement would be in the best interests of the child. Id.
¶ 2 In this case, a juvenile court denied paternal grandparents' request for guardianship and custody of their grandchild after terminating mother's and father's parental rights. Grandparents appealed. But can grandparents immediately appeal the denial of a custody request?
¶ 3 An order "terminating or refusing to terminate" a parent's "legal relationship" with a child is a final and appealable order. § 19-1-109(2)(b), C.R.S. 2022. So is an order "decreeing a child to be neglected or dependent." § 19-1-109(2)(c). But no Colorado statute or rule of juvenile or civil procedure expressly states whether an order denying a relative's request for guardianship and custody of a child is final and appealable.
¶ 4 Today we decide that such an order is not final and appealable because it does not resolve all issues before the court and end the dependency and neglect proceeding. Thus, we dismiss grandparents' appeal.
¶ 5 Y.B. and R.B., Sr. (grandparents) appeal from a juvenile court's order denying their request for permanent custody of their grandchild E.B. (the child) under section 19-3-605.
¶ 6 The Jefferson County Division of Children, Youth and Families initiated a dependency and neglect proceeding shortly after the child's birth in January 2020. The juvenile court entered an order granting temporary custody of the child to the Division. Pursuant to this order, the Division placed the child in grandparents' care.
¶ 7 However, two months later, the Division moved the child to foster care because grandparents were struggling to care for him. The child remained in the foster parents' care throughout the remainder of the proceedings in this case.
¶ 8 In February 2021, the juvenile court terminated mother's and father's parental rights. The juvenile court then determined that grandparents had made a timely request for guardianship and custody of the child under section 19-3-605. Following a contested hearing, the juvenile court denied grandparents' request for guardianship and custody.
¶ 9 Grandparents appealed. The child's guardian ad litem (GAL) moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of a final order. A motions division of this court denied the request and allowed the appeal to proceed.
¶ 10 While grandparents' appeal was pending, a different division of this court reversed the termination judgment against father and remanded the case for further proceedings. See People in Interest of E.B. , 2022 COA 8, ¶ 20, 507 P.3d 1092, 1096. Our supreme court granted certiorari review of that decision. People in Interest of E.B. , (Colo. No. 22SC213, July 25, 2022), 2022 WL 3021565 (unpublished order).
¶ 11 We address the GAL's request that we reconsider the motions division's order determining that the appeal should proceed. We agree with the GAL that the appeal must be dismissed for lack of a final, appealable order. See Allison v. Engel , 2017 COA 43, ¶ 22, 395 P.3d 1217, 1222 ().
¶ 12 We review questions of statutory construction and rule interpretation de novo. People in Interest of R.S. v. G.S. , 2018 CO 31, ¶ 15, 416 P.3d 905, 909 ; see People in Interest of B.H. , 2022 COA 9, ¶ 7, 507 P.3d 1089, 1090. "In construing a statute, we look at the entire statutory scheme ‘in order to give consistent, harmonious, and sensible effect to all of its parts, and we apply words and phrases in accordance with their plain and ordinary meanings.’ " People in Interest of L.M. , 2018 CO 34, ¶ 13, 416 P.3d 875, 879 (quoting UMB Bank, N.A. v. Landmark Towers Ass'n , 2017 CO 107, ¶ 22, 408 P.3d 836, 840 ). We apply the same principles of interpretation to our rules. See In Interest of M.K.D.A.L. , 2014 COA 148, ¶ 5, 410 P.3d 559, 560 ; B.H. , ¶ 7, 507 P.3d at 1090-91.
¶ 13 C.A.R. 3.4(a) authorizes "[a]ppeals from judgments, decrees, or orders in dependency or neglect proceedings, as permitted by section 19-1-109(2)(b) and (c), C.R.S., including ... final orders of permanent legal custody entered pursuant to section[s] 19-3-702 and 19-3-605, C.R.S."
¶ 14 Even so, "[a] final judgment is a jurisdictional prerequisite to review on appeal." Brody v. Bock , 897 P.2d 769, 777 (Colo. 1995) ; see People in Interest of H.R. , 883 P.2d 619, 620 (Colo. App. 1994). The finality requirements of section 19-1-109 govern appeals from actions brought under the Children's Code, including dependency and neglect proceedings. R.S. , ¶ 16, 416 P.3d at 910.
¶ 15 Section 19-1-109 sets forth different circumstances under which a party may appeal from an order entered in a dependency and neglect proceeding. Subsection (1) authorizes appeals from orders entered in a dependency and neglect proceeding "as provided in the introductory portion to section 13-4-102(1), C.R.S." § 19-1-109(1). Section 13-4-102(1), C.R.S. 2022, in turn, provides that the court of appeals has initial jurisdiction over final judgments of district courts, including juvenile courts. People in Interest of M.R.M. , 2021 COA 22, ¶ 14, 484 P.3d 807, 811.
¶ 16 Further, subsections (2)(b) and (2)(c) of section 19-1-109 authorize appeals from additional orders that would not fall within the purview of subsection (1) and, therefore, would not be final under section 13-4-102(1). See R.S. , ¶ 19, 416 P.3d at 910. These subsections designate orders "terminating or refusing to terminate the legal relationship between a parent or parents and one or more of the children of such parent or parents on a petition, or between a child and one or both parents of the child," § 19-1-109(2)(b), and "decreeing a child to be neglected or dependent," § 19-1-109(2)(c), as final and appealable. In essence, these subsections allow appeals from orders that would not otherwise be considered final and appealable. R.S. , ¶ 20, 416 P.3d at 910.
¶ 17 However, apart from these exceptions, which are inapplicable here, an order in a dependency and neglect proceeding must be final for appeal. See id. at ¶ 29, 416 P.3d at 912.
¶ 18 A final judgment is one that ends the particular action, leaving nothing further to be done to completely determine the rights of the involved parties. Id. at ¶ 37, 416 P.3d at 914 ; see also People in Interest of E.C. , 259 P.3d 1272, 1276 (Colo. App. 2010). To determine "whether an order is final for purposes of appeal, we generally ask ‘whether the action of the court constitutes a final determination of the rights of the parties in the action.’ " R.S. , ¶ 37, 416 P.3d at 914 (quoting Cyr v. Dist. Ct. , 685 P.2d 769, 770 (Colo. 1984) ). Stated differently, an order is final when the juvenile court has resolved all issues that were presented in the dependency and neglect proceeding. Cf. In re Marriage of Salby , 126 P.3d 291, 295 (Colo. App. 2005) ().
¶ 19 Section 19-3-605(1) provides that, following the entry of an order terminating the parent-child legal relationship, the juvenile court "shall consider, but shall not be bound by, a request that guardianship and legal custody of the child be placed with a relative of the child." A relative must file such a request with the court within twenty days of the date on which the termination motion is filed. Id.
¶ 20 Applying this framework, we conclude that the juvenile court's order denying grandparents' request for permanent custody of the child under section 19-3-605 is not a final and appealable order. This is because the juvenile court's denial of grandparents' request for permanent custody of the child did not resolve all issues before the court or end the proceeding.
¶ 21 We recognize that father's appeal remains subject to certiorari review. As a result, we cannot predict whether there will be further proceedings concerning the Division's request for an order terminating his parental rights. However, this circumstance is of no consequence to our determination that the order denying grandparents' request for custody is not final and appealable.
¶ 22 Notwithstanding the uncertain status of the order terminating father's parental rights, the juvenile court is responsible for taking further action to address other issues concerning the child. Indeed, the juvenile court will maintain ongoing jurisdiction over the child until the child becomes eighteen and one-half years of age or, before that date, the court issues an order terminating its jurisdiction. See § 19-3-205(1), C.R.S. 2022.
¶ 23 So long as the court exercises jurisdiction over the case, it is obligated to hold a permanency planning hearing at least once every six months. See § 19-3-702(1)(a), C.R.S. 2022. Addi...
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