Opinion ID: 2633499
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the stipulation granted the mother an enforceable right to participate in the court's inquiry into whether the adoption was in e.h.'s best interests

Text: ¶ 40 The adoptive parents contend that among the stipulation's flaws was its failure to direct either the court or Dr. Wehl to determine the validity of the mother's relinquishment before considering the best interests of E.H. According to the adoptive parents, to do otherwise would unlawfully alter clear statutory adoption procedures that require a court to first determine that status of any party contesting the adoption before pursuing one of two alternative courses of action: to enjoin the adoption or to dismiss the adoption petition and conduct a hearing to determine the custodial arrangement most consistent with the child's best interests. ¶ 41 The adoptive parents successfully argued to the district court that regardless of any agreement with E.H.'s mother to the contrary, the court must first resolve the mother's claim that her relinquishment was legally infirm and, if it concluded that it was not, bar the mother from further participation in the adoption proceedings for lack of standing. ¶ 42 The district court justified its decision to void that portion of the stipulation that granted the mother standing to participate in the best interests proceedings of E.H. by concluding that its ruling was mandated by statute. We therefore review the propriety of this ruling as a question of law, ceding no deference to the district court. [3] Our review leads us to conclude that the second judge erred when he overrode the parties' agreement to bypass the question of the legitimacy of the mother's relinquishment and proceed directly to a hearing on best interests, one in which the mother would not be permitted to participate. ¶ 43 We reach this conclusion based on the text of the adoption statute and our jurisprudence relating to standing and intervention. We first take up the statutory support for our holding. ¶ 44 The version of section 78-30-4.16 of the Utah Code in effect at the time of the district court's ruling addresses contested adoptions. Utah Code section 78-30-4.16 stated: (1) Whenever any party contests an adoption, the court shall first determine whether the provisions of this chapter have been complied with. If a party who was entitled to notice and consent under the provisions of this chapter, was denied that right, and did not otherwise waive or forfeit that right under the terms of this chapter, the court may: (a) enjoin the adoption, or dismiss the adoption petition, and proceed in accordance with Subsection (2); or (b) determine whether proper grounds for termination of that parent's rights exist and, if so, order that the parent's rights be terminated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or Title 78, Chapter 3a, Part 4, Termination of Parental Rights Act. (2) (a) In any case, and under any circumstance, if a court determines that a petition for adoption may not be granted, the court may not automatically grant custody of a child to a challenging biological parent, but shall conduct an evidentiary hearing in each case, in order to determine who should have custody of the child, in accordance with the child's best interest. (b) Evidence considered at that hearing may include, but is not limited to, evidence of psychological or emotional bonds that the child had formed with third parties and any detriment that a change in custody may cause to the child. The fact that a person relinquished a child to a licensed child placing agency or executed a consent for adoption may not be considered by the court as evidence of neglect or abandonment. (c) Any custody order entered pursuant to this section may also include provisions for visitation by a biological parent or interested third party, and provide for the financial support of the child. (3) An adoption may not be contested after the final decree of adoption is entered. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.16 (2000). ¶ 45 Apparently, this is the provision that the second judge relied on when he rejected the stipulation's grant of standing to the mother. It is also the centerpiece of the argument the adoptive parents make to us seeking reversal of the court of appeals. It becomes evident on close inspection of this section, however, that it does not deprive the mother of standing to present evidence on E.H.'s best interests within the context of an adoption proceeding. ¶ 46 The first sentence of Utah Code section 78-30-4.16(1) directs a court presiding over a contested adoption to make a threshold inquiry into statutory compliance. This expansive admonition is refined by the second sentence which, when read literally, limits the court's inquiry into statutory compliance to a party who was entitled to notice and consent. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.16(1) (2000). If the court determines that a member of the class of persons entitled to both notice and consent was denied notice, did not give lawful consent, and did not excuse the need for consent through valid relinquishment, waiver, or forfeiture of parental rights, it may either proceed with a determination of whether a contesting parent's parental rights should be terminated or conduct a custody hearing for the adoptee based on best interests considerations. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.16(1), (2). ¶ 47 Under the formulation of section 78-30-4.16 of the Utah Code, a best interests hearing to determine the best custody arrangement for the child would occur after a court determines that a petition for adoption may not be granted. Id. Thus, the contest to the adoption contemplated by this section has nothing to do with the issue of whether the proposed adoption is in the best interests of the adoptee and everything to do with whether all actual or potential parental rights that might cause an impediment to the adoption have been extinguished. If they have not, the best interests evidentiary hearing mandated by section 78-30-4.16 is not an adoption contest at all because an adoption is no longer pending. The mandated event is, instead, a custody hearing. ¶ 48 Although the district court's determination that the mother's relinquishment was lawful freed it of a duty to conduct this custody hearing under section 78-30-4.16, that ruling did not relieve the court of its statutory responsibility to conduct a meaningful inquiry into whether the proposed adoption of E.H. was consistent with his best interests. That duty is assigned to the court under the provisions of section 78-30-9, which directs the court to examine each person appearing before it in accordance with this chapter, separately, and, if satisfied that the interests of the child will be promoted by the adoption, it shall enter a final decree of adoption. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-9 (2002). ¶ 49 Section 78-30-9 does not describe who may appear before the court for examination concerning the effect of the adoption on the adoptee's best interests. In order to determine who may appear before the court, we must look to the law of standing and, its procedural cousin, intervention. The doctrine of standing ensures that the court will have the benefit of truly adverse parties in resolving a case. A plaintiff who has not been granted standing to sue by statute must either show that he has or would suffer a distinct and palpable injury that gives rise to a personal stake in the outcome of the case or meet one of the two exceptions to standing recognized in cases involving important public issues. Wash. County Water Conservancy Dist. v. Morgan, 2003 UT 58, ¶ 17, 82 P.3d 1125. In courts of general jurisdiction, standing is not a rigid or dogmatic rule, but one that must be applied with some view to realities as well as practicalities. See Washakie County School Dist. No. One v. Herschler, 606 P.2d 310, 317 (Wyo.1980). ¶ 50 In general, standing is available only to a person who has sustained some injury to her legal, personal, or property rights. Jenkins v. Swan, 675 P.2d 1145, 1148 (Utah 1983). The district court believed that its determination that the mother's relinquishment was lawful conclusively denied her standing in the subsequent adoption hearing. The district court reasoned that because the relinquishment left the mother with no right or interest that could be affected by the proceeding, she lacked standing to participate in those proceedings. We need not rule today whether all of the mother's interests in E.H. were extinguished; however, because even if we were to accept this line of reasoning as true, the presence or absence of parental rights does not determine whether a person has standing to intervene in an adoption proceeding. ¶ 51 Intervention is the act by which a third party obtains standing to become a party in a suit. It has been described as a method by which an outsider with an interest in an action may enter and participate as a party. To justify intervention, the party seeking intervention must demonstrate a direct interest in the subject matter of the litigation such that the intervenor's rights may be affected, for good or for ill. See Lima v. Chambers, 657 P.2d 279, 282 (Utah 1982). The requisite interest necessary to permit intervention may arise from the intervenor's status or her circumstances. Rule 24(a)(2) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs intervention as of right, describes the connection that must exist between a person's status or circumstances and the lawsuit in order to justify intervention, stating: When the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and he is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede his ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant's interest is adequately represented by the existing parties. Utah R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2) (2006). ¶ 52 Here, the parties stipulated that the mother had the necessary interest in her son to participate in the determination of his best interests irrespective of her parental status. Although we have not adopted the view that a court must always honor a claim of standing conferred by stipulation neither, do we categorically reject the notion that standing, unlike jurisdiction, can arise from an agreement. [4] As in many states, we find that in Utah standing acquired by stipulation is enforceable. [5] Moreover, we have recognized de facto intervention where parties have failed to object to a nonparty's participation in an action. See Ostler v. Buhler, 1999 UT 99, ¶ 7, 989 P.2d 1073. Here, the adoptive parents' consent to the mother's standing and intervention was not dependent on inference but was expressly granted by the stipulation. ¶ 53 Standing and the right to intervene may also be conferred by statute. Utah Code section 78-30-4.13(11) grants the right to intervene on persons who are entitled to notice of an adoption proceeding stating, Except as to those persons whose consent to an adoption is required under Section 78-30-4.14, the sole purpose of notice under this section is to enable the person served to intervene in the adoption and present evidence to the court relevant to the best interest of the child. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.13(11) (2002) (emphasis added). ¶ 54 Clearly, the hearing at which the relevant best interests evidence is to be presented cannot be the custody hearing mandated in Utah Code section 78-30-4.16. That hearing is not an adoption hearing because it can only occur if the court determines that the petition for adoption cannot be granted. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.16(2)(a). It must be that the forum for the presentation of section 78-30-4.13(11) best interest evidence is the section 78-30-9 best interest of the child (a.k.a. adoption) examination. ¶ 55 The members of the class of persons authorized by Utah Code section 78-30-4.13(11) to intervene and present evidence includes persons whose consent to the adoption or relinquishment of parental rights is not required, including a legally appointed custodian or guardian of an adoptee, Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.13(2)(c), and an adoptee's spouse, Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.13(2)(e). A mother, like E.H.'s mother, who has relinquished her parental rights does not have a right to receive notice and is excluded from the class of persons upon which the statute confers a right to intervene and present best interests evidence. However, by merely extending to a particular class of persons an express invitation to intervene in an adoption and present best interests evidence, Utah Code section 78-30-4.13(11) does not foreclose the possibility that other persons may, by reason of status or circumstance, also be eligible to intervene and present relevant best interests evidence. We do not read section 78-30-4.13(11) as restricting those who may be eligible to intervene in the adoption and present relevant best interests evidence to persons entitled to notice. Rather, section 78-30-4.13(11) authorizes intervention to persons who may present evidence to the court relevant to the best interest of the child. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.13(11). ¶ 56 By expressly granting a right of intervention to other persons who have no parental interest in an adoptee, Utah Code section 78-30-4.13(11) manifests the unmistakable intention to ground standing to intervene on whether the prospective intervenor can demonstrate an interest in or relevant evidence about the adoptee's best interests irrespective of parental status. ¶ 57 Even without the stipulation, the mother has made the requisite showing for intervention under rule 24(a). She actively participated in the selection of the adoptive parents. She lived in the adoptive parents' home and observed the environment and family dynamics. She even pursued, without objection to her standing, an action seeking custody of her son. Finally, she consented to a stipulation directed exclusively to advancing the best interests of E.H. We therefore hold that the stipulation is enforceable insofar as it confers standing and a right to intervene on the mother to present relevant evidence of E.H.'s best interests at an adoption hearing. ¶ 58 We reiterate that the hearing in which the mother is entitled to participate is, in the first instance, the section 78-30-9 adoption hearing. Only in the event that the court determines that the petition for adoption should not be granted must it then hold the custody hearing described in Utah Code section 78-30-4.16(2). ¶ 59 The adoptive parents cling to K.S. v. S.H. (In re B.B.), 2002 UT App 82, 45 P.3d 527, aff'd sub nom. Hardinger v. Scott (State ex rel. B.B.), 2004 UT 39, 94 P.3d 252, to buoy up their contention that a court may not enforce a stipulation that purports to confer standing. In particular, they insist that B.B. stands for the proposition that a stipulation that is incompatible with the adoption statute is unenforceable. Both the B.B. opinion issued by the court of appeals and our opinion affirming the outcome turned on a determination that the juvenile court lacked continuing jurisdiction over a decree of adoption that it had entered. Therefore, it could not modify the decree to reflect visitation rights of grandparents that had been omitted but had been agreed to in a stipulation between the grandparents and the adoptive parents. This case presents no such jurisdictional question. ¶ 60 For her part, E.H.'s mother has staked her claim to standing on the language of Utah Code section 78-30-4.24, which at the time she filed her petition for custody stated, Any interested party may petition the court for a determination of the rights and interests of any person who may claim an interest in a child under this chapter, at any time prior to the filing of a petition for adoption, including any time prior to the child's birth. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.24 (2002). When read as a stand-alone expression of standing to sue, this statute is very expansive, granting standing to any interested party. The adoptive parents contend, plausibly, that despite its broad language, E.H.'s mother cannot be an interested person because she has relinquished her parental rights and is therefore no more interested in E.H. than a stranger. The mother counters by pointing to Utah Code section 78-30-11 (2002). This provision fixes the entry of the decree of adoption as the date upon which birth parents cease all parental duties toward and all responsibilities for the adopted child. Id. This language carries the inescapable inference that birth parents, like E.H.'s mother, retain some residual interest in her child, even where parental rights have been lawfully relinquished. ¶ 61 When we survey the adoption statute as a whole, however, it becomes apparent that Utah Code section 78-30-4.24 was not intended to provide a statutory basis upon which to contest adoptions. The best case for this assertion draws on the language of the section itself. As formulated at the time the mother filed her custody petition, section 78-30-4.24 authorized an interested person to seek a determination of the status of another putative claimant to an interest in a child at any time prior to the filing of a petition for adoption. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.24 (2002). [6] This timing restriction erects a considerable conceptual barrier to the notion that section 78-30-4.24 was intended to grant standing to those wishing to challenge an adoption, because the opportunity to challenge the interests of others expired with the filing of an adoption petition. ¶ 62 That Utah Code section 78-30-4.24 was not intended to serve as an adoption contest mechanism is reinforced by the policy expressed with the adoption statute to preserve the anonymity of prospective adoptive parents. Section 78-30-4.13(10) codifies this policy by stating that [n]otwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the notice of an adoption proceeding nor any process in that proceeding is required to contain the name of the person or persons seeking to adopt the adoptee. Utah Code Ann. § 78-20-4.13(10) (2002). ¶ 63 If Utah Code section 78-30-4.24 was not intended to serve an alternate statutory means to contest an adoption, what is its purpose? The section must be intended to protect child placement agencies and prospective adoptive parents from the risk of an adoption contest by obtaining an adjudicated extinguishment of the claims of persons who might stand in the way of the adoption. This assessment best serves the policy interests announced by the legislature in providing stable and permanent homes for adoptive children in a prompt manner [and] in preventing disruption of adoptive placements. Utah Code Ann. § 78-30-4.12(2)(a). To this end, section 78-30-4.24 exists to facilitate adoptions, not to contest them. We therefore conclude that section 78-30-4.24 of the Utah Code did not provide E.H.'s mother grounds to challenge E.H.'s adoption. We hold, however, that her stipulation with the adoptive parents did.