Father did not have standing to appeal order denying placement of minor with grandparents. The Court granted review to determine whether a father who did not challenge the termination of his parental rights has standing to appeal an order entered at the same hearing denying the grandparents request for placement. The Court held that father did not have standing to appeal the placement order and articulated the following rule: A parent’s appeal from a judgment terminating parental rights confers standing to appeal an order concerning the child’s placement only if the placement order’s reversal advances the parent’s argument against terminating parental rights. Here, father did not have standing because he was no longer “an aggrieved party.” Nor would he have standing because placement with the grandparents would potentially maintain a legal relationship with father as his “brother.” By acquiescing in the termination of his rights, father relinquished the only interest in K.C. that could render him aggrieved by the juvenile court’s order denying placement modification.
Case Summaries