Court Opinion

ID: 9956263
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-01 17:10:58.884576+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:15:08.940603
License: Public Domain

J-S05033-24

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

 IN THE INTEREST OF: B.B., A             :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
 MINOR                                   :        PENNSYLVANIA
                                         :
                                         :
 APPEAL OF: D.B., FATHER                 :
                                         :
                                         :
                                         :
                                         :   No. 1067 WDA 2023

            Appeal from the Order Entered December 23, 2022
  In the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County Criminal Division
                    at No(s): CP-65-DP-0000089-2022

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J.E., KING, J., and BENDER, P.J.E.

MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.:                         FILED: APRIL 1, 2024

     D.B. (hereinafter “Father”), the father of minor child B.B. (born in April

of 2022), purports to appeal nunc pro tunc from the trial court’s adjudication

and disposition order, entered on December 23, 2022, which found, inter alia,

that Father had perpetrated physical abuse against B.B. After review, we are

constrained to quash this appeal.

     As the trial court explains in its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion,

     [t]his matter commenced with the minor child[’s] being taken into
     custody by the [Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau
     (“WCCB”)] on June 21, 2022[,] with the verbal consent of the
     [c]ourt. A shelter care hearing took place before Hearing Officer
     Barbara Jollie, who recommended that the child remain in
     placement outside of the home of Father and … [N.C.] (hereinafter
     “Mother”), pending the outcome of the adjudication hearing. The
     adjudication and disposition hearing was scheduled initially for
     August 17, 2022, but was continued to October 12, 2022. When
     testimony was unable to conclude on that date, a second date of
     November 30, 2022[,] was scheduled. Mother made a request
     through her attorney to keep the record open for one additional
J-S05033-24

       day of testimony to allow Mother, who was ill on November 30,
       2022, to offer testimony on her own behalf. The [c]ourt obliged,
       and a final day of testimony took place on December 7, 2022.
       When the record closed, the [c]ourt took the matter under
       advisement and issued an order on December 23, 2022.[1]

Trial Court Opinion, 2/13/23, at 1-2.

       The December 23, 2022 Adjudication and Disposition Order found that

Father had perpetrated abuse against B.B.2 In its opinion, the court explains

the basis for its decision, as follows:

       WCCB provided uncontroverted medical testimony that a physical
       examination of the Child revealed injuries so severe that the case
       was classified as a “near fatality.”[3] The WCCB went on to
       establish a timeline within a reasonable degree of medical
       certainty as to when these injuries were sustained, as well as
       which parent was responsible for child care – including periods
       when both parents were home with the child, as well as when only
       one parent was home with the child. Lastly, the [c]ourt found that
       Mother offered credible and uncontroverted testimony that she did
       not do anything that would have resulted in such an injury to the
       child, and when she suspected that something was wrong with the
____________________________________________

1 The court’s order was dated November 30, 2022, but was not docketed until

December 23, 2022.

2  We need not detail the other aspects of the court’s adjudication and
disposition order, as they are not challenged by Father herein. However, we
briefly mention that the order found B.B. to be a dependent child, removed
her from the home of Father and Mother, and placed her in kinship care with
her maternal grandmother. The court also provided legal custody of B.B. to
the WCCB. The court did not enter a finding of abuse against Mother. Mother
is not a party to this appeal.

3  Specifically, Rachel Berger, M.D., a child abuse pediatrician at the Child
Advocacy Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, testified that she
evaluated B.B. and found “she had a large subdural hemorrhage over the
whole right side of the brain.” N.T. Hearing, 10/12/22, at 6, 19. Dr. Berger
testified that B.B.’s injury was caused by “a shaking-type mechanician or an
acceleration-deceleration-type” motion. Id. at 22. The doctor stated that had
it not been for medical care, B.B. could have died. Id. at 21.

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      child, she acted immediately to figure out what happened and to
      obtain medical treatment. Father provided no such testimony to
      the [c]ourt. The only logical conclusion that the [c]ourt could
      reach is that Father, through either an intentional or reckless act,
      committed an act of abuse in the timeframe during which he was
      the only individual providing care for the child.

Id. at 2-3.

      On January 11, 2023, Father’s private counsel, Brian D. Aston, Esq.,

filed a notice of appeal on behalf of Father from the December 23, 2022 order

finding Child to be a victim of abuse by Father. That appeal was considered a

Children’s Fast Track appeal and was docketed at 59 WDA 2023. However,

Father did not file concomitantly with his notice of appeal a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)

concise statement, as required by Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a)(2)(i).      In light of this

error, we ordered Appellant’s private counsel to file a Rule 1925(b) statement

no later than January 27, 2023, or the appeal would be dismissed for waiver

of all issues pursuant to Mudge v. Mudge, 6 A.3d 1031 (Pa. Super. 2011),

and J.M.R. v. J.M., 1 A.3d 902 (Pa. Super. 2010) (stating that the failure to

file a Rule 1925(b) Statement as ordered by the appellate court shall result in

waiver of all issues and dismissal of the appeal). Appellant’s counsel failed to

file the Rule 1925(b) statement as ordered by this Court and, therefore, on

February 27, 2023, we dismissed Father’s appeal at 59 WDA 2023.

      Seven months later, on September 5, 2023, Father’s newly-hired,

private counsel filed a “Petition For Ineffectiveness Assistance of Counsel”

seeking “Post-Conviction Collateral Relief.” On September 6, 2023, Appellant

filed a notice of appeal, docketed at the instant 1067 WDA 2023, asserting

that the trial court had reinstated his appellate rights nunc pro tunc by order

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dated August 7, 2023. Attached to Father’s instant notice of appeal, and also

attached to the completed docketing statement, is a copy of a trial court order

dated August 7, 2023, that granted Father’s petition to reinstate his appeal

rights nunc pro tunc to pursue a new appeal from the December 23, 2022

order. However, the August 7, 2023 order does not appear on the trial court

docket. Moreover, there is no entry on the trial court docket evincing that

Appellant filed a petition for nunc pro tunc relief prior to the September 5,

2023 petition. Thus, it is unclear procedurally how the trial court entered an

August 7, 2023 order granting Father’s petition to reinstate Father’s appeal

rights nunc pro tunc when Father’s counsel did not file a petition to reinstate

Father’s appeal rights nunc pro tunc until a month later, on September 5,

2023.

        Given this record, we are compelled to conclude that Father’s instant

notice of appeal from the December 23, 2022 order is not properly before this

Court.    First, although the parties did not challenge the timeliness of the

petition to appeal nunc pro tunc, this Court may raise the issue sua sponte

since it goes to our jurisdiction to entertain an appeal. See In re C.G., 791

A.2d 430, 433 n. 2 (Pa. Super. 2022). Second, it was not appropriate for the

trial court to grant Father’s petition to appeal nunc pro tunc that was filed

seven months after this Court’s February 27, 2023 order dismissing

Appellant’s first appeal at 59 WDA 2023. This Court in In re Adoption of

W.R., 823 A.2d 1013 (Pa. Super. 2003), recognized that:

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      Allowance of an appeal nunc pro tunc lies at the sound discretion
      of the trial judge. More is required before such an appeal will be
      permitted than the mere hardship imposed upon the appellant if
      the request is denied. As a general matter, a trial court may grant
      an appeal nunc pro tunc when a delay in filing an appeal is caused
      by extraordinary circumstances involving fraud or some
      breakdown in the court’s operation through a default of its
      officers. Where an appeal is not timely because of non-negligent
      circumstances, as they relate to either the appellant or his
      counsel, and the appeal is filed within a short time after the
      appellant or his counsel learns of and has an opportunity
      to address the untimeliness, and the time period which elapses
      is of very short duration, and [the] appellee is not prejudiced
      by the delay, the court may allow an appeal nunc pro tunc. The
      circumstances occasioning the failure to file an appeal
      must not stem from counsel’s negligence or from a failure to
      anticipate foreseeable circumstances.

Id. at 1015-16 (emphasis added). See also Amicone v. Rok, 839 A.2d 1109

(Pa. Super. 2003) (stating that a petition to file an appeal nunc pro tunc must

be filed within a reasonable time after the occurrence of the extraordinary

circumstance).

      Instantly,   there   is   no   explanation   in   Father’s   “Petition   For

Ineffectiveness Assistance of Counsel,” in which he sought the reinstatement

of his appeal rights nunc pro tunc, as to why the petition was filed seven

months after the appeal at 59 WDA 2023 was dismissed. Thus, Father has

not established that the delay in filing his request to appeal nunc pro tunc was

caused by extraordinary circumstances.      Moreover, the seven months that

passed between Father’s prior appeal being dismissed and the filing of his

petition to reinstate his appeal rights is not a ‘very short duration’ that would

support the court’s reinstatement of his appeal rights nunc pro tunc.

Therefore, we conclude that the court erred by reinstating Father’s appeal

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rights nunc pro tunc. As Father’s present appeal is patently untimely, we are

compelled to quash.

      In any event, even if Father’s appeal were timely, we would conclude

that no relief is due. Essentially, Father argues that, because Mother was also

with B.B. during the “3-5 day time period prior to her appearing at a physician

for suspected seizure activity[,]” she could have been the perpetrator of the

abuse B.B. suffered. Father’s Brief at 9. According to Father, “[t]he [c]ourt

erroneously determined that Father was the [p]erpetrator of abuse on the

basis that Mother took the stand and merely said [she] did nothing wrong.”

Id. at 10. He insists that the court concluded he was the perpetrator of the

abuse solely because he chose not to testify, and that “[t]he evidence in this

matter demonstrates a scenario where it is just as likely it could have been

either of the parties, if not more likely it was the Mother who perpetrated this

offense.” Id. Thus, he concludes that “[t]he [c]ourt was left guessing” and

its “decision should be vacated.” Id.

      We would find no merit in Father’s argument. Initially,
         the standard of review in dependency cases requires an
         appellate court to accept the findings of fact and credibility
         determinations of the trial court if they are supported by the
         record, but does not require the appellate court to accept
         the lower court’s inferences or conclusions of law.
         Accordingly, we review for an abuse of discretion.

In re R.J.T., 9 A.3d 1179, 1190 (Pa. 2010) (citations omitted); see also In

the Interest of L.Z., 111 A.3d 1164, 1174 (Pa. 2015). “The trial court is

free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence presented and is likewise free

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to make all credibility determinations and resolve conflicts in the evidence.”

In re M.G., 855 A.2d 68, 73-74 (Pa. Super. 2004) (citation omitted).

       Here, Father does not challenge the court’s finding that B.B. suffered

abuse, or dispute the court’s determinations regarding the timeline for when

that abuse occurred. Specifically, the court found that,

       Mother was the primary caretaker from Saturday, June 11[,
       2022,] in the evening until Monday[,] June 13[, 2022,] in the
       evening, when Father returned from an extended work shift.
       Father was in a primary caretaker role from when he returned
       from work until [Mother and Father] took the Child to visit
       grandparents on Tuesday evening, as Mother was reportedly out
       of the home for large portions of time on Tuesday. Both parents
       agree that the child was extremely lethargic and, at times, overly
       fussy on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, Mother noticed
       what she believed to be seizure activity. She recorded the activity
       on her phone and reached out to Maternal Grandmother before
       contacting the Child’s pediatrician, who recommended the parents
       take the Child to Children’s Hospital.

Order of Adjudication and Disposition, 12/23/22, at 2.

       Clearly, Father and Mother were the only two individuals who were alone

with B.B. over the days when the abuse at some point occurred; thus, one of

them was the perpetrator of that abuse.4 The court found credible Mother’s

testimony that “she did not do anything that injured the Child.”       Id.   We

cannot overturn that credibility determination.       Moreover, as the court

observed, Father offered no testimony or evidence that he did not commit the

____________________________________________

4 Notably, Father does not explicitly argue, or point to any testimony to
support, that B.B. was alone with the paternal grandparents when Father and
Mother took her to visit them, and that they could have inflicted the injuries
to B.B.

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abuse.   See id.   Accordingly, “the [c]ourt [was] left with the undisputed

testimony that the Child suffered this injury while in Father’s care[,]” id.,

which supports the court’s decision that Father perpetrated the abuse on B.B.

Thus, even if Father’s appeal were timely, we would not overturn the trial

court’s order.

      Appeal quashed.

      President Judge Emeritus Panella joins this memorandum.

      Judge King concurs in the result.

FILED: 4/1/2024

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