Opinion
No. 20-0987
10-07-2020
IN THE INTEREST OF O.R., Minor Child, J.B., Father, Appellant.
John C. Heinicke of Kragnes & Associates, P.C., Des Moines, for appellant father. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee State. Raya D. Dimitrova of Carr Law Firm, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellee mother. Yvonne C. Naanep, Des Moines, attorney and guardian ad litem for minor child.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Kevin Parker, District Associate Judge. A father appeals the juvenile court decision denying the State's petition to terminate the mother's parental rights. APPEAL DISMISSED. John C. Heinicke of Kragnes & Associates, P.C., Des Moines, for appellant father. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee State. Raya D. Dimitrova of Carr Law Firm, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellee mother. Yvonne C. Naanep, Des Moines, attorney and guardian ad litem for minor child. Considered by Tabor, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Danilson, S.J. Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2020). DANILSON, Senior Judge.
A father appeals the juvenile court decision denying the State's petition to terminate the mother's parental rights. The court gave the mother an additional six months to work on reunification. The father claims there was sufficient evidence in the record to support terminating the mother's parental rights and termination is in the child's best interests.
A similar factual situation arose in In re R.R.R., where a mother sought to appeal the juvenile court's decision dismissing a termination petition brought against the father. No. 10-1451, 2010 WL 4484625, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 10, 2010). We found the mother did not have standing to bring an appeal on the matter, stating:
The mother was not a party to the termination proceedings. She cites no authority suggesting she has standing to challenge the termination of parental rights of the father and we have found no such authority. We agree with the father that mother has no standing to challenge the action involving the father's parental rights.Id.
We dismiss the father's appeal of the juvenile court's order denying the State's petition seeking termination of the mother's parental rights.
APPEAL DISMISSED.