Department of Children & Families v. R.V.
Docket: No. 5D05-642
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; December 22, 2005; Florida; State Appellate Court
The Department of Children and Families appeals a trial court's order that dismissed its dependency petition regarding the parents of three minor children due to inadequate supervision. The initial petition was based on an incident where the mother left her two-year-old unattended in a car while purchasing cigarettes and subsequently had an altercation with a pregnant woman who found the child. The mother was charged with child neglect, leading to the filing of a shelter petition, which was denied by the court. An amended dependency petition was filed, citing the same incident and additional allegations of child abuse by the father and the mother's psychological issues. This second shelter petition was also denied without explanation, and the trial court indicated that prior decisions should not be revisited. During the subsequent status hearing, the parents filed an unsworn motion to dismiss the dependency petition, which the trial court initially denied. The court allowed testimony from a Department agent, who stated she did not witness any abuse during her monthly check-ins. Ultimately, the trial court dismissed the petition, asserting that the issues had already been adjudicated. However, the dismissal was erroneous because the motion to dismiss was not sworn and was not served on the Department in a timely manner, violating procedural rules. Furthermore, the court determined that the allegations in the dependency petition were sufficient and that the dismissal of a shelter petition does not affect the dependency proceedings. The appellate court reversed the dismissal and remanded the case for further proceedings.