Dependency Law Finder

Florida's dependency statutes, court rules and DCF operating procedures, with the appellate opinions that apply them

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Tate v. C.O.W.2D19-2560

Court
2nd DCA
Decided
2020-07-17
Court's PDF On CourtListener
               NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING
                      MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED


                                          IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

                                          OF FLORIDA

                                          SECOND DISTRICT


In the Interest of P.L.H., a child. ) ___________________________________)
                                    ) JEANNE T. TATE, ESQ., and S.A.C.,   )
                                    )
               Appellants,          )
                                    ) v.                                  )            Case No. 2D19-2560
                                    ) C.O.W.,                             )
                                    )
               Appellee.            )
                                    )

Opinion filed July 17, 2020.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Christine A. Marlewski, Judge.

Jeanne T. Tate of Jeanne T. Tate, P.A., Tampa, for Appellant Jeanne T. Tate, Esq.

Amy U. Hickman of Hausmann and Hickman, P.A., Boynton Beach, for Appellant S.A.C.

Katie Jay of Katie Jay, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for Amicus Curiae Florida Adoption Council.

Madonna M. Finney of The Law Office of Madonna M. Finney, Tallahassee; Mark D. Fiddler of Fiddler Osband, LLC, Edina, Minnesota; and James B. Outman of Hester Outman LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, for Amicus Curiae The Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, Inc.

Jean Marie Henne of Jean M. Henne, P.A., Winter Haven; and Anthony Marchese of Anthony B. Marchese, P.A., Tampa, for Appellee.


PER CURIAM.

              Jeanne T. Tate, Esq., the adoption entity, and S.A.C., the mother, appeal

from an amended final judgment dismissing their petition for the termination of the

parental rights of C.O.W., the unmarried biological father, pending the adoption of the

child. Because the trial court's reservation of jurisdiction over "any further action

relating to these parties or the minor child" is overbroad in this case, we reverse that

portion of the amended final judgment and remand for vacatur of that language in the

reservation-of-jurisdiction provision. Because competent substantial evidence supports

the court's significant factual findings and the adoption entity and the mother have not

demonstrated that the court otherwise abused its discretion or reversibly erred as a

matter of law, we affirm in all other respects without discussion. See N.A.G. v. J.L.G.,

198 So. 3d 1025, 1028
 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (reviewing a trial court's abandonment determination under chapter 63, Florida Statutes (2015), we explained "[t]his court must determine if the trial court's ruling is supported by competent substantial evidence, and our review of the trial court's termination order is highly deferential").
              Affirmed in part; reversed in part; remanded.

CASANUEVA, ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, and SMITH, JJ., Concur.

                                             -2- 

Opinion text: CourtListener, Free Law Project. Not an official reporter; check the court's version before citing.