Title: Suster v. Arkansas Dept. of Human Services

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

858 S.W.2d 122 (1993) 314 Ark. 92 Lois SUSTER, Appellant, v. ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, Appellee. No. 92-1214. Supreme Court of Arkansas. July 19, 1993. John Putman, Harrison, for appellant. G. Keith Griffith, Chief Counsel, Fort Smith, for appellee. Steven B. Davis, Harrison, for separate appellee Crystal Mounts. HOLT, Chief Justice. The issue before us is the effect of a court ordered termination of the parental *123 rights of a mother to her child in relation to the rights of the child's maternal grandmother to visitation and custody of the child. We hold that the grandmother's rights are derivative of her daughter's rights, and for this reason the grandmother has no standing to intervene in the adoption proceedings of her granddaughter. Lori Hughes Cook and Carl Mounts were married from 1980 to 1984 and had one daughter, Crystal Mounts, in 1982. Thereafter, they were divorced, and Lori Hughes Cook entered into a common law marriage in Ohio with Mike Hughes during which Lori Hughes Cook took Mr. Hughes' last name and the two had one child, Loretta Hughes. They later moved to Harrison, Arkansas. In 1990, the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) filed a petition to obtain emergency custody of Crystal on the basis that she was "dependent-neglected." The petition and affidavits filed by DHS contained allegations that Lori Hughes Cook neglected Crystal and physically abused her. The trial court placed Crystal in the care and custody of DHS' Division of Children and Family Services, who in turn placed her in a foster care program except for a brief period when she was temporarily returned to her mother. After conducting several periodic reviews as mandated by Ark.Code Ann. § 9-27-337 (Repl.1991), the court entertained a petition on September 17, 1991 to terminate Lori Hughes Cook's parental rights. She was present and represented by counsel. Thereafter, the chancellor entered an order terminating Ms. Cook's parental rights to Crystal under Ark.Code Ann. § 9-27-341 (Repl.1991). The order stated "all parties agree that there is clear and convincing evidence to show that an order should be entered terminating Lori Hughes Cook's parental rights and granting custody with power to consent to adoption to the Arkansas Department of Human Services," that it was in the best interest of the child to be placed for adoption, and that the case would be reviewed next on March 10, 1992. In February, 1992, while incarcerated in the Arkansas Department of Correction, Lori Hughes Cook filed a petition to set aside the order terminating her parental rights on the basis that she had consented to the termination only because she understood that her former common law husband, Mike Hughes, would be allowed by DHS to adopt Crystal. Five days before the March 1992 review hearing, Crystal's maternal grandmother, Lois Suster, along with Crystal's three maternal uncles, filed a motion to intervene in the cause of action on the basis that they had a significant interest relating to Lori Hughes Cook's parental rights because her parental rights directly affected their ability as relatives to contact, communicate with, visit, and have a relationship with Crystal. The Susters, residents of Ohio, also filed a pleading in support of the motion to intervene as required by Ark. R.Civ.P. 24 in which they sought to obtain custody of Crystal or, at least, visitation rights. As a result of the March review hearing, the chancellor entered an order on July 7, 1992 denying Mrs. Cook's petition to set aside the order terminating her parental rights and denying Mrs. Suster's motion to intervene stating in pertinent part: Mrs. Suster, individually, appeals both the trial court's finding that she no longer had visitation rights due to termination of Lori Hughes Cook's parental rights and the trial court's denial of her motion to intervene as of right pursuant to Ark.R.Civ.P. 24(a). The denial of an intervention of right based on a claimed interest in the litigation which may be unprotected constitutes an appealable order under Ark. R.App.P. 2(a)(2). Cupples Farms Partnership v. Forrest City Prod. Credit, 310 Ark. 597, 839 S.W.2d 187 (1992). Mrs. Suster argues that the trial court erred by denying her motion to intervene pursuant to this rule since her grandparent's rights "are personal to her" and "no other parties appear to be adequately representing Mrs. Suster's interest." She relies on Ark.Code Ann. § 9-13-103 (Repl.1991) as her authority in that it provides her the right to have visitation by virtue of being a grandparent; however, she is wrong in this regard. A reading of this code section reveals that it does not give Mrs. Suster an unconditional right to intervene, but merely a means of petitioning for visitation which she has done. Simply put, this code provision does not vest grandparents with an absolute right to visitation or intervention. Mrs. Suster's reliance on Quarles v. French, 272 Ark. 51, 611 S.W.2d 757 (1981) is also misplaced. In Quarles, two children's paternal grandparents were permitted to intervene in adoption proceedings concerning the grandchildren following their father's death on the basis that the grandparents had stood in loco parentis to the children and previously had court ordered visitation as provided by statute. Here, the focal point is the intervention of a grandparent following a termination of parental rights by court order not following the death of a parent. Thus, Quarles is of no import. DHS argues that Ark.Code Ann. § 9-13-103 (Repl.1991) should not be interpreted to include grandparents where the intervening parental rights have been terminated. DHS quotes Poe v. Case, 263 Ark. 488, 565 S.W.2d 612 (1978), a case in which grandparents sought visitation rights where their grandchild had been adopted by a third party: DHS cites our recent decision of Rudolph v. Floyd, 309 Ark. 514, 832 S.W.2d 219 (1992) for further support, where we quoted with approval a law review article which stated, "Grandparent rights, to the extent they may be said to exist, are derivative of their son's or daughter's parental rights ... Because a grandparent's rights are only derivative, they may be contingent upon the establishment of paternity or maternity and are subject to divestment when parental rights are terminated." Chauncey Brummer & Era Looney, Grandparent Rights in Custody, Adoption, and Visitation Cases, 39 Ark.L.Rev. 259, 261 (1985). Although Crystal has not yet been placed for permanent adoption by a third party, we also look to our statutes which detail the effect of termination of parental rights and adoption by a third party: Ark.Code Ann. § 9-27-341(c)(1) (Repl.1991). Ark.Code Ann. § 9-9-215(a)(1) (Repl.1991) (emphasis added). These statutes point to a public policy which, in determining what is in the child's best interest, favors a complete severing of the ties between a child and its biological family when he is placed for adoption. We have said it is "unquestionably within the province of the legislature to decide that the reasons favoring the solidarity of the adoptive family outweigh those favoring grandparents and other blood kin who are related to the child through the deceased parent." Wilson v. Wallace, 274 Ark. 48, 50, 622 S.W.2d 164, 166 (1981). Our legislature has declined to adopt another rule, so we will not here. Our case law and statutory law support DHS' position. We hold, accordingly, that Mrs. Suster's rights as a grandparent were derivative of her daughter's parental rights and as a result were terminated when her daughter's parental rights were terminated, and that she does not have a recognized interest in the subject matter of this litigation to warrant intervention as a matter of right. For these reasons, we affirm the trial court's denial of her motion to intervene.