R.W., FATHER OF B.E.W., MINOR CHILD
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Fla. 1st DCA | 2025-01-24
No. 1D2024-2085
2025 FL 666 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2025)

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.

Synopsis

The Florida District Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of a parental rights termination case after the appellant's counsel withdrew and the appellant failed to timely file his own brief in support of the appeal.


Holding

The appeal is dismissed pursuant to N.S.H. v. Department of Children and Family Services, which approves the procedure of dismissing appeals when, after counsel withdraws, the appellant fails to timely file his or her own brief in support of an appeal of termination of parental rights.


Headnotes

[1] An appellate court may dismiss an appeal of a parental rights termination when counsel withdraws and the pro se appellant fails to timely file his or her own brief.

Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“N.S.H. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 843 So. 2d 898 (Fla. 2003) (approving procedure that includes dismissal when, after counsel withdraws, the appellant fails to timely file his or her own brief in support of appeal of termination of parental rights).”

The court's sole basis for dismissal, citing established Florida precedent that permits dismissal when appellants fail to file briefs after counsel withdraws in parental rights cases.

Facts & Procedural History

R.W. appealed a decision regarding his minor child B.E.W. in a case involving the Department of Children and Families. After his counsel withdrew, R.W…

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.


Opinion of the Court

January 24, 2025 PER CURIAM.

DISMISSED. N.S.H. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fam. Servs., 843 So. 2d 898 (Fla. 2003) (approving procedure that includes dismissal when, after counsel withdraws, the appellant fails to timely file his or her own brief in support of appeal of termination of parental rights). NORDBY, TANENBAUM, and LONG, JJ., concur. _____________________________ Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.

_____________________________ R.W., pro se, Appellant. Sarah J. Rumph, Children’s Legal Services, Tallahassee, for Appellee; Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, and Mercy Almaguer, Senior Attorney, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Tallahassee, for Statewide Guardian ad Litem.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw