Dependency Law Finder

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

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N.G. v. Department of Children & Families5D16-1968-2

Court
5th DCA
Decided
2016-09-26
Case
TPR
Appellant
Mother
County
Orange

Reversed & remanded Termination judgment remanded because the written order lacked the facts required by section 39.811(5), though the oral findings were detailed.

Issue
Written findings & sufficiency of the order
Law cited
§ 39.811(5)

Summary, issues, facts, outcome, and appellant were extracted automatically from the opinion. Check the opinion itself before relying on them.

Court's PDF On CourtListener 
         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

N.G., MOTHER OF G.R. AND J.M., CHILDREN,
             Appellant, v.                                                      Case No. 5D16-1968 DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,
             Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed September 29, 2016 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County, Timothy R. Shea, Judge. David B.     Falstad,    Winter   Park,   for Appellant. Rosemarie Farrell, of Children's Legal Services, Orlando, for Appellee. Richard S. Dellinger, of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A., as Guardian ad Litem, Appellee.

PER CURIAM.
      N.G. ("Appellant") appeals the trial court's entry of a final judgment terminating the parental rights to her children, G.R. and J.M.       Appellant argues, and the Florida Department of Children and Families (“Appellee") concedes, that the final judgment terminating Appellant’s parental rights does not contain the findings of fact required by law. See § 39.811(5), Fla. Stat. (2016) ("If the court terminates parental rights, the court shall enter a written order of disposition briefly stating the facts upon which its decision to terminate the parental rights is made.").
       This Court has carefully reviewed the record on appeal and noted that the trial transcript includes a detailed and thoughtful oral pronouncement by the trial court, which sets forth findings of fact, evaluations of witness credibility, as well as explanations of the court's findings and conclusions of law. Section 39.811(5), however, requires the written order to state the facts upon which the trial court’s ruling is based. The final judgment entered in this case contains conclusions of law that are supported by the trial court’s oral statement of facts; however, the judgment does not adequately set forth the findings of fact. Accordingly, we remand for the trial court to enter an amended final judgment within twenty days of the date of this opinion that includes its findings of fact along with its previously stated conclusions of law and rulings.
       REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.

EVANDER, LAMBERT and EDWARDS, JJ., concur.

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