RANDI WILSON
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Fla. 5th DCA | 2021-08-13
No. 20-1863
Gaustad, J., Lambert, C.J., Evander, J., Harris, J.
Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2021)

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Holding

An appellant who fails to present sufficient arguments for reversal, including arguments about matters in which she lacks standing, waives review and the appellate court must affirm the trial court's order.


Headnotes

[1] An appellant who was not a party to a prior termination of parental rights proceeding and was not the parent or legal guardian of the children involved lacks standing to…

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Key Quotes

“Claims for which an appellant has not presented any argument, or for which he provides only conclusory argument, are insufficiently presented for review and are waived.”

Court citing Hammond v. State regarding waiver of insufficiently presented claims

Facts & Procedural History

Randi Wilson appealed a trial court's final order dismissing her petition for adoption as moot. Wilson sought to adopt two minor children whose parent…

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Opinion of the Court
Affirmed. Lambert

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FIFTH DISTRICT

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO

FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND

DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

RANDI WILSON,

Appellant,

v. Case No. 5D20-1863

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,

Appellee. ________________________________/

Opinion filed August 13, 2021

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Volusia County, Linda L. Gaustad, Judge.

Randi Wilson, Fort Myers, pro se.

Ward L. Metzger, of Department of Children and Families, Jacksonville, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Randi Wilson appeals the trial court’s final order, entered sua sponte, dismissing her petition for adoption as moot. The court did not explain in its order why Wilson’s petition was moot; and, from our record, it is unclear how the trial court reached this conclusion. Nevertheless, as we explain, Wilson

2 has failed to make a sufficient argument here for reversal of this final order. See Hammond v. State, 34 So. 3d 58, 59 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (“Claims for which an appellant has not presented any argument, or for which he provides only conclusory argument, are insufficiently presented for review and are waived.” (citing Doorbal v. State, 983 So. 2d 464, 482–83 (Fla. 2008); Shere v. State, 742 So. 2d 215, 217 n.6 (Fla. 1999))). Wilson’s initial brief is almost entirely devoted to arguing what she contends were various errors allegedly committed in the earlier termination of parental rights proceeding involving the two minor children that she later sought to adopt below. Her arguments are misplaced. First, Wilson was neither the parent nor legal guardian of these two children and was not a party to that litigation. Thus, to the extent her arguments regarding the termination of parental rights proceeding would somehow be germane to the instant adoption proceeding, Wilson lacks standing to raise these arguments. See C.K. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 65 So. 3d 1179, 1180 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (holding that the mother did not have standing to raise an issue personal to the father, who did not appeal the termination of parental rights final judgment). Second, the final judgment that was entered terminating the parental rights of the mother and father of these minor children was appealed by the mother and was affirmed by this court without opinion. See L.W. v.

Accordingly, we are compelled to affirm the final order of dismissal.

AFFIRMED.

LAMBERT, C.J., EVANDER and HARRIS, JJ., concur.

Footnotes
3 Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 274 So. 3d 392 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019). As such, we had necessarily concluded in that earlier appeal that no reversible error in the final judgment of termination of parental rights had been shown. Wilson’s sole, limited argument raised in her brief for reversal that is actually related to the final order dismissing her adoption petition is, essentially, her belief or speculation that the trial court improperly held an ex parte hearing, attended by only the appellee, and then entered the final order now being appealed. While such a hearing would clearly be inappropriate, Wilson’s argument lacks merit as there is nothing in the record that would suggest or show that the trial court held a hearing. Whether a better argument for reversal could have been made here by Wilson is not our task to address. Simply put, it is neither the function nor role of an appellate court to make an argument for a party. See Williams v. Skylink Jets, Inc., 229 So. 3d 1275, 1278 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017) (recognizing that an appellate court “will not make arguments for an appellant”).

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