Opinion ID: 1802838
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Parental Authority and the State's Parens Patriae Authority

Text: The enforceability of a pre-injury release concerns two compelling interests: that of the parents in raising their children and that of the state to protect children. Parental authority over decisions involving their minor children derives from the liberty interest contained in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the guarantee of privacy in article I, section 23 of the Florida Constitution. See Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 66, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 147 L.Ed.2d 49 (2000) (plurality opinion) (In light of this extensive precedent, it cannot now be doubted that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children.); see also Beagle v. Beagle, 678 So.2d 1271, 1275 (Fla.1996) (The fundamental liberty interest in parenting is protected by both the Florida and federal constitutions. In Florida, it is specifically protected by our privacy provision.). In fact, beginning with Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923), the United States Supreme Court has recognized that parents have a constitutionally protected interest in child rearing. In Troxel, the United States Supreme Court further pointed to a presumption that fit parents act in the best interests of their children.... Accordingly, so long as a parent adequately cares for his or her children ( i.e., is fit), there will normally be no reason for the State to inject itself into the private realm of the family to further question the ability of that parent to make the best decisions concerning the rearing of that parent's children. 530 U.S. at 68-69, 120 S.Ct. 2054; see also Von Eiff v. Azicri, 720 So.2d 510, 514 (Fla.1998) (Neither the legislature nor the courts may properly intervene in parental decision-making absent significant harm to the child threatened by or resulting from those decisions.). However, these parental rights are not absolute and the state as parens patriae may, in certain situations, usurp parental control. In Global Travel Marketing, Inc. v. Shea, 908 So.2d 392, 399 (Fla.2005), we explained the concept of parens patriae as applied in this State: Parens patriae, which is Latin for parent of his or her country, describes the state in its capacity as provider of protection to those unable to care for themselves. Black's Law Dictionary 1144 (8th ed.2004). The doctrine derives from the common-law concept of royal prerogative, recognized by American courts in the form of legislative prerogative. See Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. Puerto Rico ex rel. Barez, 458 U.S. 592, 600, 102 S.Ct. 3260, 73 L.Ed.2d 995 (1982). The United States Supreme Court, upholding a state child labor law in Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 64 S.Ct. 438, 88 L.Ed. 645 (1944), recognized the parens patriae power when it stated that although the custody, care, and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, ... the state as parens patriae may restrict the parent's control by requiring school attendance, regulating or prohibiting the child's labor and in many other ways. Id. at 166, 64 S.Ct. 438 (footnotes omitted). In decisions over the past three decades, this Court has expressly relied on the state's parens patriae authority to protect children in two areas: (1) juvenile delinquency and dependency, see P.W.G. v. State, 702 So.2d 488, 491 (Fla. 1997); State v. D.H., 340 So.2d 1163, 1166 (Fla.1976); In re Camm, 294 So.2d 318, 320 (Fla.1974); and (2) child custody and support. See Schutz v. Schutz, 581 So.2d 1290, 1293 (Fla.1991); Lamm v. Chapman, 413 So.2d 749, 753 (Fla. 1982); Kern v. Kern, 333 So.2d 17, 19 (Fla.1976). Pervasive statutory schemes cover each of these areas. See generally ch. 39, Fla. Stat. (2004) (Proceedings Relating to Children); ch. 61, Fla. Stat. (2004) (Dissolution of Marriage; Support; Custody); ch. 984, Fla. Stat. (2004) (Children and Families in Need of Services); ch. 985, Fla. Stat. (2004) (Delinquency; Interstate Compact on Juveniles). Although there is no statutory scheme governing pre-injury releases, the Kirtons argue that a parent's execution of a pre-injury release falls squarely within the parent's authority to settle pursuant to section 744.301(2), Florida Statutes (2007). This statutory provision allows a parent, acting as the natural guardian of a minor child, to settle the child's claim for amounts up to $15,000. The Kirtons reason that because at the time a parent signs a pre-injury release, the claim is worth less than $15,000, the parent's authority to execute a pre-injury release for a minor child falls within this section. Contrary to the Kirtons' assertion, a parent's authority to execute a pre-injury release on behalf of a minor child does not fall within the purview of section 744.301(2). Section 744.301, Florida Statutes (2007), applies to situations where a minor child already has a cause of action against another party. A pre-injury release is executed before any cause of action accrues and extinguishes any possible cause of action. The absence of a statute governing parental pre-injury releases demonstrates that the Legislature has not precluded the enforcement of such releases on behalf of a minor child. See Global Travel Mktg., Inc. v. Shea, 908 So.2d 392, 400 (Fla.2005) (noting that the absence of a statutory scheme governing a parent's agreement to binding arbitration on behalf of a minor child demonstrates that the Legislature has not precluded the enforcement of such agreements). However, we find that public policy concerns cannot allow parents to execute pre-injury releases on behalf of minor children.