Opinion ID: 2638914
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Mother's Standing to Raise Errors on Behalf of Grandfather

Text: [¶ 38] Mother challenges the district court's decisions on several matters pertaining to Grandfather, including: whether the district court erred by failing to make written findings when it denied Grandfather's motion to stay the trial; whether the district court erred by denying Grandfather's petition for visitation; and whether the district court violated Grandfather's fundamental rights to familial association. DFS claims that Mother does not have standing to assert these issues on Grandfather's behalf. [¶ 39] Standing is a legal concept designed to determine whether a party is sufficiently affected to insure that the court is presented with a justiciable controversy. Pedro/Aspen, Ltd. v. Board of County Commissioners for Natrona County, 2004 WY 84, ¶ 8, 94 P.3d 412, 415, quoting Jolley v. State Loan and Investment Board, 2002 WY 7, ¶ 6, 38 P.3d 1073, 1076 (Wyo.2002) (citations omitted). The doctrine of standing is a jurisprudential rule of jurisdictional magnitude. At its most elementary level, the standing doctrine holds that a decision-making body should refrain from considering issues in which the litigants have little or no interest in vigorously advocating. Accordingly, the doctrine of standing focuses upon whether a litigant is properly situated to assert an issue for judicial or quasi-judicial determination. A litigant is said to have standing when he has a `personal stake in the outcome of the controversy.' This personal stake requirement has been described in Wyoming as a `tangible interest' at stake. The tangible interest requirement guarantees that a litigant is sufficiently interested in a case to present a justiciable controversy. Id., ¶ 8, quoting Jolley, ¶ 6, which quoted, Roe v. Board of County Commissioners, Campbell County, 997 P.2d 1021, 1022-23 (Wyo.2000). See also, McNeel v. McNeel, 2005 WY 36, ¶ 16, 109 P.3d 510, 514 (Wyo. 2005). [¶ 40] Mother claims that the court erred by failing to make written findings pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 501, et. seq. when it denied Grandfather's motion to stay the trial. Grandfather filed the motion to stay because he had been deployed by the National Guard and could not, therefore, attend the trial in person. We have reviewed the record on this matter and can find no indication that Mother had a personal stake in Grandfather's motion to stay or the district court's failure to make written findings when it denied that motion. Mother does not explain how she was prejudiced by the district court's denial of the motion to stay or its failure to make written findings justifying its denial. Clearly, this issue belongs to Grandfather, and he dismissed his appeal of the district court's decision. We do not have a party before us with a tangible legal interest in resolution of this issue; therefore, we decline to address the merits of this contention. [¶ 41] In two related arguments, Mother claims that the district court erred by refusing to grant Grandfather's petition for visitation and violated his constitutional right to familial association. As we discussed earlier in this opinion, the right to associate with one's family is a fundamental constitutional right. Michael, 900 P.2d at 1147. In recognition of this right, Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-7-101 (LexisNexis 2005) grants grandparents the right to petition for grandparent visitation in certain situations. Although Mother may be concerned about preserving a relationship between CF and her family, she does not have a personal interest in Grandfather's petition for visitation. Mother, therefore, does not have standing to claim that the district court erred by failing to grant Grandfather visitation with CF or to argue that Grandfather's right to familial association was deprived by the district court's order. [4]