Court Opinion

ID: 9957398
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-04 15:03:55.352156+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:18:18.080640
License: Public Domain

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
                        STATE OF FLORIDA
                       _____________________________

                             Case No. 6D23-1357
                    Lower Tribunal No. 2017-DP-000117-SH
                      _____________________________

                          In the Interest of L.A., a child.

                                       C.C.,
                                    Appellant,
                                         v.

                    DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,

                                     Appellee.
                       _____________________________

               Appeal from the Circuit Court for Osceola County.
                             Laura Shaffer, Judge.

                                   April 4, 2024

WOZNIAK, J.

      We withdraw the previous opinion and mandate issued in C.C., Father of L.A.,

a Child v. Department of Children & Families, 47 Fla. L. Weekly D2323 (Fla. 5th

DCA Nov. 14, 2022), and we affirm the trial court’s final order terminating C.C.’s

parental rights to L.A. in accordance with the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion in
this case, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office v. C.C., Nos. SC2023-0604, SC2023-

0605, 2024 WL 979471 (Fla. Mar. 7, 2024). 1

      AFFIRMED.

TRAVER, C.J., and NARDELLA, J., concur.

Keith Peterson of the Law Offices of Peterson, P.A., Mulberry, and Ryan Thomas
Truskoski, of Ryan Thomas Truskoski, P.A., Orlando, for Appellant.

Stephanie C. Zimmerman, Deputy Director and Statewide Director of Appeals, and
Kelley Schaeffer, Appellate Counsel, Children’s Legal Services, Bradenton, for
Appellee, Department of Children and Families.

Dennis W. Moore, Executive Director, Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director
of Appeals, Laura J. Lee, Assistant Director of Appeals, Statewide Guardian ad
Litem Office, Tallahassee, and Blake Lynne Bruce, pro bono, Statewide Guardian
ad Litem Office Defending Best Interests Project, Alexandria, Virginia, for
Appellee, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office.

 NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING
          AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED

      1
        This case was originally heard by the Fifth District Court of Appeal, case
number 5D22-1476. After the Fifth District released its opinion, the Department of
Children and Families and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office each filed a
motion for rehearing, rehearing en banc, and certification. While those motions were
pending, the case was transferred to this Court on January 1, 2023, and assigned case
number 6D23-1357. This Court acted on the pending motions. Thereafter, the
Department of Children and Families and the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office
separately sought discretionary review in the Florida Supreme Court, which
consolidated the two appeals for all appellate purposes.
                                           2