Opinion
DA 23-0212
12-19-2023
IN RE THE PARENTING OF MB., a minor child. UMBERTO FERRI, Petitioner and Appellee, And ANNELIESE N. BROWN, Respondent and Appellant.
ORDER
Respondent and Appellant Anneliese Brown appeals the Eleventh Judicial District Court's March 6, 2023 Order Re Interim Parenting Plan, asserting that the court erred in revising the prior interim parenting plan without a hearing. The prior interim plan, entered September 25, 2019, had provided for Appellee Umberto Ferri to have reintroduction and supervised visits with the parties' child M.B. at the direction of Dr. Cindy Miller. The 2023 Order eliminates Dr. Miller's role, after the District Court was notified that she is no longer available to assist the family. Anneliese argues that the court's amendments were contrary to previous recommendations of mental health professionals involved in the case and that the court erred by failing to hold a hearing to consider M.B.'s best interests.
Having reviewed the procedural posture of the,case, the order Anneliese appealed, and the parties' filings, we conclude that Anneliese's appeal is premature. With specified exceptions that do not apply here, the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure permit appeals only from a final judgment in an action. M. R. App. P. 6(1). Although Anneliese argues that the District Court has "effectively" entered a final parenting plan, there has never been a final judgment or final parenting plan entered. The District Court's March 6, 2023 order adopting amendments to the Interim Parenting Plan is not a final order.
That said, this parenting dispute has been pending for over nine years with no evidentiary hearing to consider the parties' competing requests for a final parenting plan or the best interests of their child. The September 2019 and March 2023 interim parenting plans both state, "If the parents cannot agree to a parenting schedule, the matter shall be submitted to the District Court for determination of a parenting schedule in the best interest of the minor child." This Court expects one or both parties to request a final parenting plan and the District Court to hold an evidentiary hearing on the same and make a final determination. Both parties retain the right to appeal the court's final judgment in the case after entry of the Final Parenting Plan.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this appeal is DISMISSED without prejudice to the parties' right of appeal from final orders and judgments in the case.
The Clerk of this Court is directed to provide a copy of this Order to the Clerk of District Court for the Eleventh Judicial District for filing in Flathead County Cause No. DR-14-833 (B) and to counsel of record.