Opinion ID: 2636685
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Addition of the Guardian ad Litem as a Party Defeats the Application of Res Judicata

Text: ¶ 20 Furthermore, res judicata does not apply because the guardian ad litem was not a party to the 2005 failed adoption proceeding. In order to qualify for claim preclusion in juvenile proceedings, both cases must involve the same parties. State ex rel. S.D.C., 2001 UT App 353, ¶ 13, 36 P.3d 540. When an additional party, such as the state, joins a subsequent petition to terminate parental rights, claim preclusion cannot bar the petition. B.J.H. v. State (State ex rel. T.J.), 945 P.2d 158, 162-63 (Utah Ct.App. 1997). The role of the guardian ad litem is to represent the interests of the child or children who are the subject of litigation, interests that were not represented in the prior termination proceeding. Id. at 163. In this case, only the Worthingtons, Ms. Sullivan, and Mr. Nuosci were parties to the original contested adoption proceeding. The guardian ad litem's office joined the 2007 petition to terminate Mr. Nuosci's parental rights in order to represent A.C.M.'s interests, which were not represented by independent counsel in the 2005 contested adoption proceeding. The addition of the guardian ad litem's office prevents the application of claim preclusion to bar the 2007 termination petition. ¶ 21 In summary, res judicata does not bar a subsequent termination petition from being brought against Mr. Nuosci. The instant termination petition is based on events occurring after the 2005 adoption proceeding and newly discovered evidence supporting termination of Mr. Nuosci's rights. Further, the addition of a new interested party, the guardian ad litem, further defeats Mr. Nuosci's res judicata claim.
¶ 22 Mr. Nuosci argues that the facts found by the juvenile court do not provide a legally sufficient justification for termination of his rights. He also argues that the findings of fact do not support the juvenile court's conclusion that termination of his parental rights is in A.C.M.'s best interests. ¶ 23 In order to terminate parental rights, the juvenile court must make two separate findings. S.L. v. State, (State ex rel. M.L.), 965 P.2d 551, 561, n. 13 (Utah Ct.App.1998); State ex rel. G.D. v. L.D., 894 P.2d 1278, 1284 (Utah Ct.App.1995). First, it must find grounds for termination under Utah Code section 78A-6-507. State ex rel. M.L., 965 P.2d at 561 n. 13. We will uphold the juvenile court's determination as to the grounds for termination so long as there is a factual basis for any one of the grounds listed in section 78A-6-507(1). See Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-507(1)(2008); F.C. Jr. v. State (State ex rel. F.C. III) 2003 UT App 397, ¶ 6, 81 P.3d 790; T.B. v. Utah (State ex rel. D.B.), 2002 UT App 314, ¶ 13 n. 4, 57 P.3d 1102. Second, the juvenile court must find that termination of the parent's rights is in the best interests of the child. State ex rel. M.L., 965 P.2d at 561 n. 13. ¶ 24 The juvenile court justified its decision to terminate Mr. Nuosci's parental rights on four subsections of Utah Code section 78A-6-507: neglect, unfitness, unwillingness or inability to remedy unfitness, and unwillingness or inability to remedy the circumstances that caused the child to be in a court-supervised Out-of-home placement. Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-507(1)(b)-(d),(f)(iv) (2008). The juvenile court then determined that termination was in A.C.M.'s best interests.
¶ 25 The juvenile court could consider Mr. Nuosci's extensive criminal history and pervasive fraudulent behavior as grounds for termination. Utah Code section 78A-6-508(6)(b) provides that conviction of a crime, if the facts surrounding the crime are of such a nature as to indicate the unfitness of the parent to provide adequate care to the extent necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and development is prima facie evidence of unfitness. ¶ 26 In 2005, Mr. Nuosci was convicted of numerous federal felonies, including mail fraud, identity theft, and bank fraud. Prior to his convictions in the United States, Mr. Nuosci was also convicted in Canada of fraud-related charges on at least four separate occasions and of one charge of uttering threats. In addition to these convictions, Mr. Nuosci repeatedly lied to the court, to government officials, and to those with whom he had personal relationships. Indeed, he lied to Ms. Sullivan in order to induce her to enter into the surrogacy contract with him. The juvenile court properly found that the facts surrounding his repeated acts of dishonesty were sufficient to demonstrate Mr. Nuosci's unfitness to provide adequate care for A.C.M.'s mental and emotional health and development, particularly in light of Mr. Nuosci's deportation. Not only does his pervasive fraud constitute prima facie evidence of his unfitness, but the court could also consider it by itself as an additional ground for termination. ¶ 27 The juvenile court also properly relied upon Mr. Nuosci's history of violent behavior as a ground to terminate his rights. Utah Code section 78A-6-508(2)(f) allows the juvenile court to consider a parent's history of violent behavior as a factor supporting the termination of a parent's rights. The juvenile court specifically found that uncontroverted evidence showed that Mr. Nuosci was violent toward Ms. Sullivan and his former domestic partner, Lonnie James. Further, it noted that one of his Canadian convictions was for uttering threats. These findings also support termination of Mr. Nuosci's parental rights. ¶ 28 Because there are several proper grounds on which the juvenile court based its decision to terminate Mr. Nuosci's parental rights, we need not reach Mr. Nuosci's challenges to the juvenile court's other grounds for termination.
¶ 29 The juvenile court did not disregard Mr. Nuosci's present ability and willingness to function as a parent when it terminated his rights. [T]he juvenile court must consider a parent's ability at the time of the termination hearing in determining whether termination is appropriate. State ex rel. M.L., 965 P.2d at 561. However, the court must consider a parent's present ability in light of the parent's past conduct and its debilitating effect on the parent-child relationship. Id. at 562. In considering Mr. Nuosci's present ability to parent, the juvenile court noted the discrepancy between the $5000 per month income he testified that he received and the fact that he had applied for indigent status with the court just weeks prior to his testimony. Based on this conflicting testimony and Mr. Nuosci's past history of dishonesty, the juvenile court afforded no weight to Mr. Nuosci's testimony. The juvenile court properly considered Mr. Nuosci's present ability to parent and determined that it did not meet a minimum threshold of fitness.
¶ 30 The juvenile court correctly determined that termination of Mr. Nuosci's parental rights would be in A.C.M.'s best interests. A court may only consider evidence of the child's best interests after finding that the parent does not meet the minimum threshold of fitness. State ex rel. G.D., 894 P.2d 1278, 1284 (Utah Ct.App.1995) ([I]t is unconstitutional to terminate a parent's rights based upon a finding of the best interests of the child without first finding that the parent is below some minimum threshold of fitness.). To determine the best interests of the child, the court must consider the physical, mental, or emotional condition and needs of the child. Utah Code Ann. § 78A-6-509(1)(a). The court is not limited to considering only the factors listed in the statute. Id. Though a parent's deportation alone may be insufficient to find that termination of that parent's rights is in the child's best interests, in cases like this, where the child has developed no previous relationship with the parent, the fact of a parent's deportation is a sufficient basis to find that termination of the parent's rights is in the child's best interests. Based on the testimony at the hearing, the juvenile court found that requiring A.C.M. to cross international borders to visit a father that he has not seen since he was two months old would be severely disruptive to A.C.M.'s mental health. We agree that this disruption would not be in A.C.M.'s best interests. ¶ 31 The juvenile court made sufficient findings to support its determination that Mr. Nuosci does not meet the minimum thresholds for fitness and that termination of his parental rights is in A.C.M.'s best interests.