Opinion ID: 2561874
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Jacobs Are Entitled to Declaratory Relief.

Text: The Jacobs sought a judicial declaration that OCS violated their statutory rights by failing to place their grandchildren in their care, by failing to give them notice of all the court hearings in the CINA cases, and by failing to give them notice and an opportunity to be heard in the permanency hearings. In his order Judge Reese began by noting that the CINA statutes (1) indicate a clear preference for placing children with relatives rather than in foster care and (2) include grandparents in the list of parties who must receive advance notice of CINA proceedings. Next, Judge Reese noted OCS's concession that the Jacobs did not receive notice of hearings held after the September 2001 effective date of the amendments requiring such notice. Finally, Judge Reese concluded that the department's failure to give them notice is a serious oversight. The state argues that with these statements the trial court essentially granted the declaratory relief. We disagree. The superior court dismissed the Jacobs' claims and thus did not create an enforceable order for the Jacobs to use in the CINA proceedings. Moreover, the superior court's statements were heavily qualified by its subsequent statement that the Jacobs' due process rights have not been violated, since. . . they may request placement in the CINA case. Because the Jacobs never sought a declaration specifically regarding their due process rights, we decline to comment on this issue extensively. We do note, however, that notice of proceedings and a meaningful right to be heard are essential to due process, [12] and that there are situations in which the right to intervene in the late stages of a CINA case will be insufficient to cure the prejudice of the initial due process violation. [13] Timely notice and opportunity to be heard are especially important in situations involving the placement of children. Here the Jacobs were not given notice of any of the initial CINA hearings involving their grandchildren. While the crucial laws regarding grandparent notice did not take effect before the initial decisions concerning their grandchildren were made, we note that from an equitable standpoint the Jacobs did not receive an opportunity to be heard in this case until it was already too late. The Jacobs were not consulted for early placement despite their status as legal custodians and concerned relatives of the children. By the time they navigated their way through the web of bureaucracy, retained counsel, and entered a courtroom, many years had passed  an amount of time even more significant for children  and their grandchildren had formed bonds with their foster parents such that an OCS home study concluded that it was not in the children's best interest to move into the Jacobs' home. We do not have sufficient facts to determine whether the lapse of time was prejudicial to the Jacobs, nor to determine whether the children ought to have been placed with them initially, but we will consider whether the superior court erred when it dismissed the Jacobs' claim for a declaratory judgment that recognizes that OCS violated their statutory rights. OCS argued in its brief that we should dismiss the declaratory judgment portions of the Jacobs' appeal on mootness grounds. But at oral argument the state conceded, in accordance with its briefed position that declaratory judgment had already been granted, that it had no objection to an order vacating the dismissal and remanding for an entry of declaratory judgment for the Jacobs. Given the disturbing factual history of this case, the state's concession appears to be well-taken. A claim is moot if it has lost its character as a present, live controversy. [14] Where the party bringing the action would not be entitled to relief even if successful, there is no case or controversy for us to resolve. [15] Issues are moot where the appellant has already received relief. [16] Mootness can also occur when `a party no longer has a personal stake in the controversy and has, in essence, been divested of standing.'  [17] The Jacobs' claim for a declaratory judgment is not moot because the Jacobs retain an ongoing stake in a present, live controversy. A declaration of the Jacobs' rights will continue to benefit them in their dealings with OCS. We are troubled by OCS's history of refusal to provide the Jacobs with notice of agency decisions or actions relating to their grandchildren, and resistance to including the Jacobs in their grandchildren's CINA proceedings. We also recognize that, given this history, the Jacobs' current status as interveners in their grandchildren's remaining CINA cases does not preclude the possibility that OCS will again fail to provide the Jacobs with notice or an opportunity to be heard. For example, although the Jacobs' eldest grandchildren are currently under the guardianship of their foster parents, OCS could again violate the Jacobs' rights if the agency fails to notify the Jacobs of any disruption in the guardianship or fails to consider the Jacobs first in priority for a new placement. In addition, the remaining CINA proceeding for the Jacobs' youngest grandchild is still under way. Although the Jacobs currently enjoy intervener status in those proceedings, OCS could again violate the Jacobs' rights if the agency fails to provide them with notice and an opportunity to participate in any additional proceedings that become necessary in the future. A declaratory judgment from the superior court that acknowledges the failure of OCS to meet its statutory duty to the Jacobs and that specifically recognizes the Jacobs' rights to receive notice of future OCS hearings relating to their grandchildren will materially benefit the Jacobs. As noted above, [18] the state conceded at oral argument that it had no objection to an order vacating the dismissal and remanding for an entry of declaratory judgment for the Jacobs. We do so now, because the Jacobs are entitled to judicial declaration that they have a right to notice of any CINA proceedings involving their grandchildren. The Jacobs are also entitled to a declaration that their right to notice was violated by OCS when they did not receive notice after the September 2001 effective date of the amendments requiring such notice.