In re H.R.P., ___ N.C. App. ___ (December 31, 2024)
Held:
Affirmed
There is a dissent
by Thompson, J.
- Facts: Mother and Father filed notices of appeal for the orders that terminated their respective parental rights. One notice of appeal cited G.S. 7B-1001(a)(4) (a final order that modifies legal custody), and the other notice of appeal cited G.S. 7B-1001(a1)(a), which has been repealed.
- Notices of appeal must be filed in accordance with G.S. 7B-1001(b) and (c). N.C. R. App. P. 3.1(b). Failure to comply is a jurisdictional defect requiring dismissal. An appeal is not lost due to a jurisdictional defect if “the intent to appeal from a specific judgment can be fairly inferred from the notice and the appellee is not misled by the mistake.” Sl. Op. at 6-7 (citation omitted and emphasis in original). Mother and Father correctly appealed to the court of appeals and correctly indicated the TPR order from which they intended to appeal, however each cited to incorrect statutory authority under G.S. 7B-1001. Appellate Rule 3.1 does not require citation to a statutory authority, but even if the notices were jurisdictionally defective, the parents’ intent to appeal the TPR order can be fairly inferred from the notices and petitioner fully participated in the appeal and therefore was not misled. Parents did not lose the appeal due to any defect in their notices.
Category:
Termination of Parental RightsStage:
AppealTopic: