IN THE INTEREST OF C.R., M.R., A.S., M.S., M.S., S.S., CHILDREN. M.T., MOTHER, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the trial court lacked authority to enter a default judgment terminating parental rights based on the mother's failure to appear at a docket sounding.
The mother of six children appealed a judgment terminating her parental rights, arguing the order was based on her failure to appear at a docket sound…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Advisory Hearing cases and more on FLexlaw
FULMER, Judge.
M.T., the mother of C.R., M.R., A.S., M.S., M.S., and S.S., appeals a judgment that terminated her parental rights to her six children. She argues that the judgment must be reversed because the order of termination was based on her failure to appear at a “docket sounding”1 notwithstanding the appearance of her attorney. We agree that the trial court was without authority to enter the default and, therefore, reverse. Our resolution of this issue makes it unnecessary for us to discuss the other three points raised on appeal.
Section 39.801(3)(d), Florida Statutes (2000), provides the trial court with authority to enter a default against a parent who fails to appear at either an advisory or adjudicatory hearing; however, the statute does not address the failure to appear at a “docket sounding” or scheduling conference. This court has previously reversed orders terminating parental rights which were entered based on defaults that were not specifically authorized by statute. See In the Interest of B.A., 745 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); In the Interest of A.L., 711 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). Accordingly, we reverse the order terminating parental rights and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
DAVIS and KELLY, JJ., Concur. . What the trial court termed a "docket sounding” appears to have been a scheduling conference.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
V.D.C. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 899 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)…rminating parental rights which were entered based on defaults that were not specifically authorized by statute. See In the Interest of B.A., 745 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); In the Interest of A.L., 711 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). In re C.R., 806 So. 2d 646, 646 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). “The profound nature of an order terminating parental rights mandates strict adherence to statutory requirements.” C.R.K. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 826 So. 2d 1053, 1054-55 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (reversing termination of par…
-
C.R.K. v. Dep't OF Child. & Families, 826 So. 2d 1053 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)…earing. The “court event form” included two dates and listed the event as a calendar call. It failed to indicate that either date was for an adjudicatory hearing even though two dates were listed. The notice was therefore inadequate. See In re C.R., 806 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (reversing order terminating parental rights of mother where termination was based on mother’s failure to appear at a “docket sounding”). And, we note that, while not statutorily required, the warning of potential consequences for…
-
In the Interest of S.C. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 857 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…l rights here was based on the court’s finding that the mother, by her absence, had consented to the allegations of the petition, as allowed by the statute, any error is harmless. Affirmed. FULMER and KELLY, JJ., concur. . Although in In re C.R., 806 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002), this court recognized the trial court’s authority to enter a default against a parent for nonappearance at an adjudicatory hearing in a termination proceeding, pursuant to a strict reading of the statutory language, “consent” is…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- In the Interest of A.L. v. State, 711 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
- Perry v. State, 745 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)
- In the Interest of B.A. v. State, 745 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)