State ex rel. C.V. v. Adoption Link, Inc.
| Decision Date | 30 May 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 2018-1857,2018-1857 |
| Citation | 2019 Ohio 2118,157 Ohio St.3d 105,132 N.E.3d 651 |
| Parties | The STATE EX REL. C.V. v. ADOPTION LINK, INC., et al. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
Kuhn Limited and Ryan D. Kuhn, for relator.
Voorhees & Levy, L.L.C., and Michael R. Voorhees, Cincinnatti, for respondent Adoption Link, Inc.
Stephen K. Haller, Greene County Prosecuting Attorney, and Elizabeth A. Ellis, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for respondents Greene County Juvenile Court and Probate Court judges.
Zeiger, Tigges & Little, L.L.P., and Daniel P. Mead, for respondent K.B.
{¶ 1} Relator, C.V., is the biological mother of N.V., born August 10, 2018. In this original action, she seeks writs of prohibition and habeas corpus to (1) vacate a Greene County Juvenile Court judge's approval of her agreement to permanently surrender N.V. to the custody of respondent Adoption Link, Inc., (2) halt adoption proceedings in the Greene County Probate Court, and (3) compel the return of N.V. to her care and custody. For the reasons explained below, we grant C.V.'s request for a writ of prohibition against respondent Greene County Juvenile Court judge, we deny her request for a writ of prohibition against respondent Greene County Probate Court judge, and we deny her request for a writ of habeas corpus. In addition, we deny the motion for oral argument and deny as moot the motion for leave to file a surreply brief.
{¶ 2} The essential facts of this case are not in dispute. On the afternoon of August 10, 2018, C.V. gave birth to a baby girl in the bathroom of her residence. C.V. has a history of substance abuse and addiction, including heroin use, and before going into labor, she did not know she was pregnant. Fire-department personnel transported C.V. and the baby to Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.
{¶ 3} At 11:00 a.m. the next morning, C.V. met with a Good Samaritan Hospital social worker, who showed her adoption-agency pamphlets. C.V. selected Adoption Link. Within an hour, Naomi Ewald, the director of Adoption Link, sent profiles of four prospective adoptive families, and C.V. selected K.B.
{¶ 4} That afternoon, C.V. met with Adoption Link's adoption assessor, Melissa Manzi. During that meeting, which took place in C.V.'s hospital room, C.V. executed a temporary-custody agreement, transferring temporary custody to Adoption Link for a period of 61 days. In addition, she signed a form titled "Ohio Law and Adoption Materials," acknowledging that she had been provided with written materials on adoption and was fully aware of the ramifications of surrendering custody of her child, and she answered questions so that Manzi could fill out the "Social and Medical History" form required by R.C. 3107.09(A) and (B).
{¶ 5} C.V. was discharged from the hospital the following day, and later that evening, she began her treatment regimen for heroin addiction
. Two days later, on August 14, she had her first assessment meeting for admission to an inpatient addiction-treatment facility.
{¶ 6} Also on August 14, C.V. executed a permanent-surrender-of-child agreement, assigning permanent custody of N.V. to Adoption Link.
{¶ 7} The next day, August 15, Adoption Link filed the permanent-surrender agreement, along with the "Ohio Law and Adoption Materials" and "Social and Medical History" forms, with the clerk of the Greene County Juvenile Court. On August 16, the Greene County Juvenile Court judge signed the bottom of the surrender agreement, below preprinted text that stated, "I hereby approve the transfer of permanent custody," and "I find that continuation in the home is contrary to the best interest of the child and that the placement is in the best interest of the child." The juvenile-court judge also signed a judgment entry, which, along with the court-approved surrender agreement, was filed the next day, August 17, finding that the surrender agreement was in N.V.'s best interest, finding that C.V. had entered into the agreement knowingly and voluntarily, granting Adoption Link permanent custody, and terminating C.V.'s parental rights.
{¶ 8} Prior to filing the present action, C.V. made two attempts to revoke the surrender agreement based on an alleged change of circumstances: she filed a "Motion to Withdraw Consent of Adoption" in the Hamilton County Probate Court and a "Motion to Withdraw Consent of the Permanent Surrender & Appeal to Petition of Adoption" in the Greene County Juvenile Court. Both motions were denied.
{¶ 9} On December 31, 2018, C.V. commenced the present suit for writs of prohibition and habeas corpus. In addition to the Greene County Juvenile Court judge and Adoption Link, she named as respondents the Greene County Probate Court judge, whom she believes is presiding over adoption proceedings involving N.V., and the prospective adoptive mother, K.B. All four respondents filed motions to dismiss, which we denied, 154 Ohio St.3d 1516, 2019-Ohio-695, 118 N.E.3d 254. On February 12, 2019, we issued an order staying all adoption proceedings. 154 Ohio St.3d 1505, 2019-Ohio-489, 116 N.E.3d 1285.
{¶ 10} On March 5, 2019, C.V. filed an unopposed motion for oral argument. And at the close of briefing on the merits, K.B. filed a motion for leave to file a surreply brief to respond to arguments raised in C.V.'s reply brief.
{¶ 11} We have discretion to grant oral argument in an original action, S.Ct.Prac.R. 17.02, and in exercising that discretion, we consider whether the case involves a matter of great public importance, complex issues of law or fact, a substantial constitutional issue, or a conflict among courts of appeals, State ex rel. Sands v. Court of Common Pleas Judge , 155 Ohio St.3d 238, 2018-Ohio-4245, 120 N.E.3d 799, ¶ 6. In this case, we conclude that none of those factors is present and that the parties' briefs are sufficient to resolve the issues raised. We therefore deny the motion.
{¶ 12} Three elements are necessary for a writ of prohibition to issue: the exercise of judicial power, the lack of authority for the exercise of that power, and the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. State ex rel. Elder v. Camplese , 144 Ohio St.3d 89, 2015-Ohio-3628, 40 N.E.3d 1138, ¶ 13. However, if the absence of jurisdiction is patent and unambiguous, a relator need not establish the third prong, the lack of an adequate remedy at law. State ex rel. Sapp v. Franklin Cty. Court of Appeals , 118 Ohio St.3d 368, 2008-Ohio-2637, 889 N.E.2d 500, ¶ 15.
{¶ 13} C.V.'s complaint seeks a writ of prohibition against the Greene County Juvenile Court judge on the ground that he had no legal authority to approve the surrender agreement or terminate her parental rights. There is no dispute that the juvenile-court judge's approval of the surrender agreement was an exercise of judicial authority. The question we must resolve is whether he patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to issue that approval.
{¶ 14} Ohio's juvenile courts have limited jurisdiction: they can exercise only the authority conferred on them by the General Assembly. In re Z.R. , 144 Ohio St.3d 380, 2015-Ohio-3306, 44 N.E.3d 239, ¶ 14. In certain situations, an adoption agency is required to seek and a juvenile court is authorized to provide approval of a permanent-surrender agreement. R.C. 5103.15(B)(1) ("(B)(1) surrenders"). But for a limited class of surrender agreements—agreements with private child-placing agencies for the placement of children under six months of age for the sole purpose of adoption—the agency is not required to seek and the juvenile court has no authority to grant approval of the agreement.
R.C. 5103.15(B)(2) ("(B)(2) surrenders"). With respect to (B)(2) surrenders, the agency is required only to "notify" the court of the agreement within two business days and the juvenile court is authorized only to journalize the notification. Id. ; see also Juv.R. 38(B)(2) (). The role of the juvenile court in a (B)(2) surrender is purely ministerial. See , e.g. , In re E.B. , 9th Dist. Summit No. 23850, 2008-Ohio-784, 2008 WL 509093, ¶ 15 ().
{¶ 15} The precise language of the statute conferring jurisdiction upon a juvenile court regarding surrender agreements is as follows: "The juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction * * * [t]o hear and determine * * * requests for court approval of permanent custody agreements that are filed pursuant to section 5103.15 of the Revised Code." R.C. 2151.23(A)(9). A (B)(2) surrender does not involve a "request[ ] for court approval." It is therefore outside the scope of a juvenile court's statutory authority to approve.
{¶ 16} It is plain from the record that Adoption Link did not believe that it was operating under R.C. 5103.15(B)(1). Although Adoption Link filed the agreement with the Greene County Juvenile Court clerk's office, there is no evidence in the record to suggest that it filed a motion or other pleading requesting court approval of the surrender agreement. In addition, there is no evidence indicating that it filed a case plan with the juvenile court, as it would have been required to do for a (B)(1) surrender but not for a (B)(2) surrender. Furthermore, the juvenile-court judge's judgment entry that purported to approve the surrender agreement expressly stated that the court had been "notified" of the agreement...
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In re C.W.
...limited jurisdiction: they can exercise only the authority conferred on them by the General Assembly." State ex rel. C.V. v. Adoption Link, Inc., 157 Ohio St.3d 105, 2019-Ohio-2118, ¶ 14, citing In re Z.R., 144 Ohio St.3d 380, 2015-Ohio-3306, ¶ 14. The juvenile court does not have "inherent......