Justia Family Law Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in North Carolina Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the trial court entering an order removing reunification with Parents from the permanent plan as to their two children, holding that competent evidence supported the trial court's findings of fact, and those findings sustained the trial court's conclusions of law.The Catawba County Department of Social Services filed a juvenile petition alleging that Parents' infant daughter had been abused and that both she and Parents' son were neglected. The court adjudicated the daughter as both abused and neglected and the son as neglected. An ensuing permanency planning order made reunification the primary plan. Given the severity of the daughter's injuries and that neither parent had acknowledged responsibility for the injuries, however, the court modified the permanent plan, eliminating reunification from the plan and specifying a primary plan of adoption. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the evidence on the record supported the trial court's findings of fact, which supported the conclusions of law in the permanency planning order; and (2) the court of appeals addressed a constitutional issue that was not preserved for appellate review. View "In re J.M." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals determining that provisions in the settlement agreement in this case were ambiguous, holding that the plain language of the settlement agreement was unambiguous.After Defendant and Melissa Galloway Snell executed a memorandum of mediated settlement agreement a judgment a divorce was granted to the parties. At issue was a life insurance policy on Melissa's life that listed the Melissa Galloway Snell Living Trust as the policy's beneficiary. The parties' four children were beneficiaries of the trust. When Defendant claimed that he was entitled to the proceeds from Melissa's policy the trust brought suit seeking a declaratory judgment. The trial court granted the trustee's motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the relevant language of the settlement agreement was ambiguous. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the court of appeals erred by concluding that the settlement agreement was ambiguous. View "Galloway v. Snell" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court modified the decision of the court of appeals affirming the denial of a petition to terminate Father's parental rights and clarified the correct standard of review at the adjudication and dispositional stage, holding that there were no grounds to terminate Father's parental rights pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. 7B-1111(a)(1), (4), or (7).Mother filed a petition to terminate Father's parental rights, alleging that grounds for termination existed under section 7B-1111(a0(1), (4), and (7). In denying the petition, the trial court found that Father made an effort to have a relationship with his child but was blocked from doing so, that the child was not neglected, and that Father had not willfully abandoned the child. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed as modified, holding (1) the trial court did not err in concluding that the grounds necessary to terminate Defendant's parental rights did not exist; and (2) the court of appeals' decision is modified to the extent it could be read to be applying an abuse of discretion, rather than a clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, standard of review at the adjudicatory stage of the proceeding. View "In re S.R." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating the orders of the trial court dismissing Mother's terminating MOther's parental rights, holding that the trial court did not err.After a hearing, the trial court terminated Mother's parental rights. The court of appeals remanded the case for a new hearing, citing its concerns about the fundamental fairness offered to Mother before the trial court dismissed her provisional counsel. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding (1) the trial court complied with the legislature's enactments concerning provisional counsel under N.C. Gen. Stat. 7B-1108.1(a)(1) and properly considered at the pretrial hearings the issues listed in N.C. Gen. Stat. 7B-1101.1(a)(1); and (2) therefore, the court of appeals erred by reversing the judgment of the trial court. View "In re R.A.F." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court modified and affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court in this termination of parental rights case, holding that any error was harmless.The trial court in this case referenced a timeline introduced into evidence and expressly relied on that timeline, which the court found to be "credible and reliable," in determining that grounds existed to terminate Respondent's parental rights for willful failure to make reasonable progress under N.C. Gen. Stat. 7B-1111(a)(2). The Supreme Court affirmed as modified, holding (1) the trial court's findings of fact were proper because the trial court did not merely accept and rely upon the timeline but expressly evaluated whether the timeline was credible and reliable; (2) there was no error in the trial court's disposition order; and (3) if the trial court erred by permitting an amendment that added an additional ground for termination, the error was harmless. View "In re H.B." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals determining that the trial court's findings of fact did not support its conclusion adjudicating Glenda a neglected juvenile, holding that the court of appeals erred by requiring findings of fact from the trial court to adjudicate a juvenile neglected that are not required by statute or Supreme Court precedent.After Glenda's sibling died, the Department of Social Services filed a petition alleging that Glenda was a neglected juvenile. After the trial court concluded as a matter of law that Glenda was a neglected juvenile within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. 7B-101(15) Respondent appealed. The court of appeals vacated the adjudication and disposition order, concluding that the trial court's written findings of fact did not support its conclusion that Glenda was a neglected juvenile. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the findings of fact supported the trial court's adjudication and conclusion of law that Glenda was a neglected juvenile. View "In re G.C." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's adjudications of nine-year-old Margaret as an abused and neglected juvenile and her two younger siblings as neglected juveniles, holding that the trial court's order contained sufficient findings, supported by clear cogent, and convincing evidence, supporting the court's adjudications of Margaret and her siblings.In reversing the trial court's adjudications, the court of appeals held that the trial court improperly admitted some hearsay evidence and that the trial court's reasoning was so "reliant and intertwined with" the hearsay evidence that the proper remedy was to vacate the trial court's order. The Supreme Court reversed after reaffirming the proper role of an appellate court in reviewing a trial court's adjudication and disposition in a juvenile proceeding, holding that the court of appeals erred by vacating or reversing the trial court's adjudications because the court properly adjudicated Margaret as an abused and neglected juvenile and properly adjudicated her siblings as neglected juveniles. View "In re A.J.L.H." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed portions of the court of appeals' opinion that found error in certain portions of the trial court's order eliminating reunification as a permanent plan and ceasing further review hearings in a neglect and dependency case concerning Mother's child, holding the trial court did not err.The trial court entered the order eliminating reunification as a permanent plan only after it found that an alternate permanent plan of custody with a court-approved caretaker had been achieved and after the court had received evidence showing that the court-approved caretakers understood the legal significance of the child's placement in their home. The court of appeals vacated the order and remanded the case. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the court of appeals erred in determining that the trial court erred in ceasing reunification efforts and in failing to fulfill its statutory obligations concerning verification. View "In re K.P." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the order of the trial court permitting Father's court-appointed counsel to withdraw from representing Father in the case proceedings and the trial court's order ceasing efforts to reunify Father with his son (Child), holding that remand was required for additional proceedings.The Chowan County Department of Social Services (DSS) petitioned to terminate Father's parental rights to Child on multiple grounds. Father was granted the same attorney for the termination of parental rights matter as had been allowed to withdraw at an earlier hearing. Thereafter, trial court terminated Father's parental rights, concluding that all four of the alleged grounds of the termination existed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court erred in allowing Father's counsel to withdraw from representation without proper notice evidence in the record of the attorney's intent to withdraw and without making further inquiry into the circumstances regarding the motion. View "In re L.Z.S." on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Industrial Commission dismissing Shannon Stocks's claim for death benefits, holding that Stocks - the decedent's alleged, cohabitating fiancee - lacked a legally-recognized relationship and thus could not file a claim for death benefits.The decedent in this case died from injuries sustained in an industrial accident at Defendant. Plaintiffs - the decedent's daughter, son, estranged wife, and Stocks - all filed claims for death benefits under the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act. The Commission dismissed Stocks's claim for benefits, and a consent order was entered dividing the decedent's death benefits equally among the remaining plaintiffs. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiff could not file a claim for death benefits because she lacked a legal relationship with the decedent sufficient to qualify as a dependent under N.C. Gen. Stat. 97-39. View "West v. Hoyle's Tire & Axle, LLC" on Justia Law