R.M., MOTHER OF V.L., E.L., AND T.L., CHILDREN, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, APPELLEE
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Mother appealed a trial court order denying her motion for custody of children in a long-standing dependency case where the children had been placed with the maternal grandmother under a Long Term Relative Placement Plan. The appellate court held that non-final orders following a final disposition order are reviewable by appeal when they involve authorized post-disposition motions such as modification of placement, and therefore had jurisdiction to review the order.
The court has jurisdiction to review the order by appeal under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(4) because the order constitutes a post-disposition order entered on an authorized motion for modification of placement under Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.345(a), and such orders are reviewable by appeal despite being non-final.
[1] Non-final orders entered after a final order in dependency cases, pursuant to authorized motions for modification of placement or termination of supervision or jurisdicti…
[2] An order denying a mother's motion for custody of children, which claimed changed circumstances and substantial compliance with a case plan, is a non-final order entered…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“it seems clear that the order of disposition in this case, rendered pursuant to section 39.521, Florida Statutes, is a final order, notwithstanding the court's continuing jurisdiction to act on behalf of the child.”
Establishes that disposition orders are final despite the court's continuing jurisdiction in dependency cases
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA dependency case was commenced in 2004 when two children were sheltered due to domestic violence by both parents. In 2005, the children were adjudica…
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ON MOTION TO WITHDRAW
In the various district courts of appeal, the question of what non-final orders are appealable in a dependency case has become something of a quagmire, even leading one court recently to question what is (and what is not) a final order in a dependency case. M.V.-B., a child v. Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 19 So.3d 381 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). It has become common for us to deal with this problem by saying that no non-final order in a dependency case is appealable; that such orders are reviewable only by certiorari. Amid all this uncertainty, there appears to be one category of non-final order in a dependency case that is reviewable by appeal, and the order appealed in this case is an example.
This is an old dependency case. It was commenced in 2004 with a petition to shelter two children, V.L. and E.L., due to acts of domestic violence by both the Mother and the father of the children.1 The children were temporarily placed with the maternal grandmother. In 2005, the children were adjudicated dependent and an order of disposition was entered. In 2006, a Long Term Relative Placement Plan was entered, placing the children in the custody of the maternal grandmother and terminating the supervision of the Department of Children and Families. Appointed counsel was accordingly discharged.
Three years later, the Mother filed a motion for Custody of the Children, claiming that the previous placement was no longer in the best interests of the children and that she had substantially complied with her case plan. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the motion and denied the motion, leaving Mother’s visitation to be supervised by the maternal grandmother at her discretion. The Mother appealed this order.
This Court, citing to Florida Department of Children and Families v. R.A., 980 So.2d 578 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), one of the many authorities that say there is no review by appeal of non-final orders in dependency cases, issued an order to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed. Counsel responded that the appeal should be treated as a Petition for Writ of Certiorari. However, counsel simultaneously filed a motion to withdraw, saying there was no meritorious issue raised. Given the dissonance between a petition for writ of certiorari, which is necessarily predicated on the notion of a material departure from the essential requirements of the law and the invocation of the procedure authorized in N.S.H. v. Department of Children and Families, 843 *1031So.2d 898 (Fla.2003), based on counsel’s conclusion that there was no meritorious issue he could ethically raise, we determined that certiorari could not lie and were poised to dismiss the petition. On further reflection, however, we have concluded that we do have jurisdiction to review the subject order by appeal pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(4). Without wading into the debate about what is or is not a final order in a dependency case, it seems clear that the order of disposition in this case, rendered pursuant to section 39.521, Florida Statutes, is a final order, notwithstanding the court’s continuing jurisdiction to act on behalf of the child.
Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(4) provides that non-final orders entered after final order on authorized motions are reviewable under rule 9.130. There are two categories of post-disposition orders that are expressly authorized in the Rules of Juvenile Procedure. Rule 8.345 authorizes the filing of a Motion for Modification of Placement and a Motion for Termination of Supervision or Jurisdiction. The order under review in this case fits the description of a motion for modification described in rule 8.345(a). Accordingly, we find that it is reviewable under rule 9.130. That being so, the N.S.H. procedure applies, counsel’s motion to withdraw is granted, and R.M. shall have thirty days within which she may serve a pro se initial brief as provided in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(e). An appendix will not be required because the court has received the record.
ORFINGER and COHEN, JJ., concur.
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M.M. v. Fla. Dep't OF Child. & Families, 189 So. 3d 134 (Fla. 2016)…roceedings are reviewed. Id. at 841 n. 1 (citing J.S. v. Fla. Dep’t of Children & Families, 75 So. 3d 808 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011); S.P. v. Fla. Dep’t of Children & Family Services, 17 So. 3d 878 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); R.M. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 19 So. 3d 1029 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009); M.V.-B. v. Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 19 So. 3d 381 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); F.E. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 1 So. 3d 305 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)). In F.E., the Third District concluded that an order terminating supervision…
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J.S. v. Fla. Dep't of Child. & Families, 75 So. 3d 808 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…ion are generally reviewable under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(4). See D.T. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 54 So. 3d 632 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) (affirming order denying motion for reunification); R.M. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 19 So. 3d 1029 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (finding jurisdiction to review post-disposition dependency order pursuant to rule 9.130(a)(4), and rejecting the argument that there is never any review by appeal of non-final orders in dependency cases); A.B. v. Dep’t of Childr…
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W.W. Father of N.S. v. Guardian AD Litem Program & Dep't of Child. & Families, 159 So. 3d 999 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…ep’t of Children & Families, 75 So. 3d 808, 809 n. 1 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011); D.T. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 54 So. 3d 632, 633 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) (affirming order denying motion for reunification); see also R.M. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 19 So. 3d 1029, 1031 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (finding jurisdiction to review post-disposition dependency order pursuant to rule 9.130(a)(4), and rejecting the argument that there is never any review by appeal of non-final orders in dependency cases); A.B. v. Dep’t of…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- N.S.H. v. Fla. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 843 So. 2d 898 (Fla. 2003)
- In the Interest of M.V.-B. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs. & Guardian Ad Litem Program, 19 So. 3d 381 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
- Fla. Dep't OF Child. & Families & the Guardian ad Litem Program v. R.A., 980 So. 2d 578 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)