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E.D.G. v. M.S.
Citations: 878 So. 2d 299; 2003 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 796; 2003 WL 22417156Docket: 2020401
Court: Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama; October 24, 2003; Alabama; State Appellate Court
On August 14, 2002, the Juvenile Court of Hale County awarded M.S. custody of his two minor stepchildren. E.D.G., the biological father, filed a postjudgment motion on August 28, 2002, and subsequently submitted a notice of appeal on January 21, 2003. The father contended that the case was misclassified as a juvenile court proceeding and should instead be treated as a circuit court case, arguing that involvement of a circuit judge in juvenile matters is atypical in Hale County. He asserted that the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, rather than the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedure, should apply. Both juvenile and circuit courts in Alabama have original jurisdiction over child custody issues, as established in Ex parte Lipscomb. However, the father's notice of appeal was deemed untimely under Rule 4 of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. If the case was classified as a juvenile court proceeding, the appeal should have been filed by September 25, 2002; if treated as a circuit court proceeding, the deadline was January 7, 2003. Since the father's notice was filed on January 21, 2003, it was untimely regardless of the classification. Consequently, the court determined it lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal, with all judges concurring.