Case Name: IN THE MATTER OF A.P., a minor child
Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
Jurisdiction: North Carolina
Decision Date: 2007-05-04
Citations: 361 N.C. 344
Docket Number: No. 534A06
Parties: IN THE MATTER OF A.P., a minor child
Judges: 
Reporter: North Carolina Reports
Volume: 361
Pages: 344–344

Head Matter:
IN THE MATTER OF A.P., a minor child
No. 534A06
(Filed 4 May 2007)
Child Abuse and Neglect— neglected child — custody—closing of case — termination of district court’s jurisdiction
The decision of the Court of Appeals remanding this case for an evidentiary hearing determining who is best suited to care for a dependent child who had been placed in the custody of the DSS and placed by DSS with her natural father is reversed for the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion that the district court’s closing of the case terminated its jurisdiction and returned the child’s parents to their pre-petition legal status. The parents now have the option to pursue a custody determination in a Chapter 50 proceeding.
Appeal, pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-30(2) from the decision of a divided panel of the Court of Appeals, 179 N.C. App. 425, 634 S.E.2d 561 (2006), reversing an order entered 18 October 2004 by Judge Denise S. Hartsfield in District Court, Forsyth County, and remanding the case for an evidentiary hearing. Heard in the Supreme Court 10 April 2007.
Theresa A. Boucher, Assistant County Attorney, for petitioner-appellant Forsyth County Department of Social Services.
Katharine Chester and Richard E. Jester for respondentappellee mother.
Robert T. Newman, Sr. for respondent-appellee Roy R Gary C. Rhodes for respondent-appellant William David H.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
For the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion, the decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed.