Opinion
2180797
01-10-2020
S.J. v. A.B. and D.B.
Gerald O. Sills of Stubbs, Sills & Frye, P.C., Anniston, for appellant. Sheri W. Stallings, Centre, for appellees.
Gerald O. Sills of Stubbs, Sills & Frye, P.C., Anniston, for appellant.
Sheri W. Stallings, Centre, for appellees.
MOORE, Judge.
S.J. ("the maternal grandmother"), the maternal grandmother of C.R. ("the child"), appeals from a judgment entered by the Calhoun Juvenile Court ("the juvenile court") denying her petition seeking grandparent-visitation rights with the child. We reverse the juvenile court's judgment.
Procedural History
On December 27, 2018, the maternal grandmother filed a petition requesting that the juvenile court award her grandparent-visitation rights with the child under the Grandparent Visitation Act ("the GVA"), Ala. Code 1975, § 30-3-4.2 et seq. On January 28, 2019, the paternal grandparents and custodians of the child, A.B. and D.B. ("the paternal grandparents"), responded to the petition. After a trial, the juvenile court entered a judgment on June 18, 2019, denying the maternal grandmother's petition. The juvenile court's judgment does not include findings of fact as required by § 30-3-4.2(f), Ala. Code 1975. On July 2, 2019, the maternal grandmother filed her notice of appeal.
Discussion
On appeal, the maternal grandmother first argues that the juvenile court failed to comply with the mandatory language in § 30-3-4.2(f) providing that "[t]he court shall make specific written findings of fact in support of its rulings." In K.J. v. S.B., 292 So. 3d 657 (Ala. Civ. App. 2019), which was an appeal from a judgment denying K.J.'s request for grandparent visitation, this court, relying on the language of § 30-3-4.2(f), held: "Because the trial court's judgment does not contain any findings of fact, we reverse the judgment and remand the cause for the trial court to enter findings of fact in support of its rulings." 292 So. 3d at 657. In keeping with K.J., we conclude that, in this case, the juvenile court erred in failing to set forth findings of fact in its judgment denying the maternal grandmother's petition for grandparent-visitation rights.
We note that, like the appellant in K.J., the maternal grandmother in this case did not file a postjudgment motion alerting the juvenile court to its failure to comply with § 30-3-4.2(f). Rule 52(a), Ala. R. Civ. P., provides, in pertinent part: "In all actions tried upon the facts without a jury or with an advisory jury, the court may upon written request and shall when required by statute, find the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law thereon ...." (Emphasis added.) Subsection (f) of § 30-3-4.2 uses mandatory language requiring a trial court deciding a grandparent-visitation case filed pursuant to the GVA to make findings of fact in support of its ruling. "[W]ritten findings of fact ... permit the trial judge an opportunity to carefully review the evidence and to perfect the issues for review on appeal." Ex parte Vaughn, 495 So. 2d 83, 87 (Ala. 1986). By including the requirement in subsection (f) of the GVA requiring a trial court to make specific findings of fact, the legislature clearly intended to impress upon the trial courts the importance of weighing all the factors set forth in the GVA and of informing this court of the reasoning behind its decision for purposes of facilitating meaningful appellate review. Based on the mandatory language of § 30-3-4.2(f) and the policy behind that requirement, we conclude that the failure by a trial court to include findings of fact in a judgment entered in a grandparent-visitation case is reversible error, regardless of whether that omission is first brought to the attention of the trial court through a postjudgment motion. See, e.g., K.J., 292 So. 3d at 657 (reversing the judgment in a grandparent-visitation case for failure to include findings of fact despite the fact that no postjudgment motion had been filed).
Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, we reverse the juvenile court's judgment and remand this cause for the juvenile court to enter findings of fact as required by § 30-3-4.2(f).
REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
Thompson, P.J., and Donaldson and Hanson, JJ., concur.
Edwards, J., concurs in the result, without writing.