H.R.G., JR.
v.
DCF
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A trial court's reference to a statutory ground for termination of parental rights in its final judgment must be stricken when that ground was neither pleaded by the petitioner nor litigated at trial, even though the ultimate termination on properly pleaded grounds is affirmed.
[1] A trial court may not include as a basis for termination of parental rights a statutory ground that was not pleaded by the petitioner and was not litigated at trial, and…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Department of Children and Families sought to terminate H.R.G., Jr.'s parental rights to his minor child and pleaded two statutory grounds for ter…
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C. Andrew Roy, of Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, P.A., Winter Park, for Guardian ad Litem.
PER CURIAM.
We affirm the final judgment terminating Appellant’s parental rights to the minor child on the two statutory grounds pleaded, but we remand to the trial court to strike its reference to section 39.806(1)(c), Florida Statutes (2017), in the final judgment as an additional reason for termination. This was clearly an inadvertent clerical error by the court, as the Department of Children and Families did not plead section 39.806(1)(c) as a ground for termination of Appellant’s parental rights nor did it attempt to present evidence or argument at trial under this statute.
AFFIRMED, but REMANDED for correction of clerical error.
SAWAYA, PALMER and LAMBERT, JJ., concur.