M.W. v. A.E., D.E., and Franklin County Department of Human Resources (2025)

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

M.W. v. A.E., D.E., and Franklin County Department of Human Resources
C.M. v. A.E., D.E., and Franklin County Department of Human Resources

CL-2024-0938, CL-2024-0939

Decided: July 11, 2025

CL-2024-0938 -- AFFIRMED BY UNPUBLISHED MEMORANDUM.

CL-2024-0939 -- AFFIRMED BY UNPUBLISHED MEMORANDUM.

I respectfully dissent. I agree that the Franklin Juvenile Court (“the juvenile court”) erred in finding that M.W. (“the father”) had an ongoing substance-abuse problem and that C.M. (“the mother”) had an ongoing mental-health problem that impaired their ability to care for M.K.W. (“the child”). I disagree, however, that the error was harmless because I cannot conclude that the juvenile court would have terminated the parental rights of the father and the mother absent those erroneous findings. I believe that this court should reverse the judgment and remand the case for the juvenile court to reconsider whether it should terminate the mother's and the father's parental rights, without taking into account its erroneous findings, as we did in B.T. v. Jefferson County Department of Human Resources, [Ms. CL-2023-0944, Aug. 30, 2024] ___ So. 3d ___ (Ala. Civ. App. 2024).

HANSON, Judge.

Fridy and Bowden, JJ., concur. Edwards, J., concurs in the result, without opinion. Moore, P.J., dissents, with opinion.

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