DocketNumber: 2170323
Citation Numbers: 267 So. 3d 851
Judges: Donaldson
Filed Date: 7/20/2018
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/29/2022
S.M. ("the mother") appeals from an order of the Cullman Juvenile Court ("the juvenile court") that, among other things, granted custody of C.D.M. ("the child") to C.A. and M.A. ("the paternal grandparents") and ordered the mother to pay child support. Because we determine that the mother has appealed from a nonfinal order, and, therefore, that this court has no jurisdiction, we dismiss the appeal.
Facts and Procedural History
The record indicates that the child had been in the custody of the paternal grandparents since April 2016. On July 27, 2017, the paternal grandparents filed a dependency petition in the juvenile court seeking custody of the child. On November 22, 2017, after a trial, the juvenile court entered an order that, among other things, found the child to be dependent, granted custody of the child to the paternal grandparents, and ordered the mother to pay child support. At the end of the order, the juvenile court stated: "The Court reserves *852the issue of the non-payment of support from April 2016."
The mother filed a "motion for final order" on December 4, 2017, in which she asserted that the reservation of the issue of retroactive support made the order nonfinal. That same day, the mother filed a motion seeking to alter, amend, or vacate the juvenile court's November 22, 2017, order.
Discussion
On appeal, the mother challenges the juvenile court's order finding the child to be dependent, transferring custody to the paternal grandparents, and awarding child support.
Before we can address the mother's arguments on appeal, however, we must determine whether the mother has appealed from a final judgment, and, thus, whether this court has jurisdiction to consider the mother's appeal, because "jurisdictional matters are of such magnitude that we take notice of them at any time and do so even ex mero motu." Nunn v. Baker,
As explained above, the juvenile court's November 22, 2017, order stated: "The Court reserves the issue of the non-payment of support from April 2016." It is well settled that "[a]n order is generally not final unless it disposes of all claims or the rights and liabilities of all parties." Carlisle v. Carlisle,
This court has regularly dismissed appeals from judgments that reserve child-support determinations on the basis that such judgments are nonfinal. See Lowe v. Lowe,
This court has also held, however, that it is a "well-established principle that an adjudication of dependency and an accompanying custodial placement of a child in a dependency proceeding is an appealable order." C.L. v. D.H.,
In J.M.M. v. J.C.,
We asked the parties in this case to submit letter briefs addressing whether the mother appealed from a final judgment, in light of the language in the order reserving the issue of the nonpayment of child support. The paternal grandparents assert in their letter brief that the November 22, 2017, order is nonfinal. In her letter brief, the mother acknowledges the lack of a final judgment but asks this court to hold the appeal in abeyance and remand the case to the juvenile court with instructions. Neither the paternal grandparents nor the mother have asked us to revisit or overrule the cases that serve as authority for determining that the order is nonfinal.
Because the November 22, 2017, order does not resolve the issue of retroactive child support, the mother has appealed from a nonfinal judgment, and, therefore, we are required to dismiss the appeal. See S.A.M.,
APPEAL DISMISSED.
Thompson, P.J., and Pittman, Thomas, and Moore, JJ., concur.
We note that the motion was not filed pursuant to Rule 59(e), Ala. R. Civ. P., which is made applicable in the juvenile court pursuant to Rule 1(A) and (B), Ala. R. Juv. P., because "[a] valid Rule 59 motion may only be filed in regard to a final judgment." C.M.M. v. S.F.,
We note that this case is distinguishable from Parker v. Parker,