VERNICE ROSS, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The appellate court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the adoption petition, finding the decision was based on substantial competent evidence.
[1] An appellate court will not substitute its judgment for that of the trial court unless the trial court's findings are clearly erroneous.
[2] A trial court's findings based upon substantial competent evidence are presumed to be correct and will be affirmed on appeal.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA 55-year-old widow, who had been the foster mother of a 17-month-old child, sought to adopt the child. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Se…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Trial Court Orders cases and more on FLexlaw
HENDRY, Chief Judge.
This is an appeal from an order of the trial court dismissing appellant’s petition for adoption.
Appellant-petitioner, a fifty-five year old widow, filed her petition to adopt the minor child, L, then age seventeen months. Appellant had been L’s foster mother from the time the child was twelve days old. Appel-lee-respondent, the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services of the State of Florida, was opposed to the adoption on the grounds of appellant’s age, economic condition and marital status.
At final hearing, both sides offered testimony addressed to the child’s best interest. The trial court accepted appellee’s recommendation against adoption and this appeal follows.
On appeal, appellant’s primary contention is addressed to the sufficiency of the evidence presented by appellee to support the trial court’s order. More specifically, appellant argues that the court placed too little reliance upon testimony concerning possible psychological damage occurring to L by virtue of a separation from appellant, while overemphasizing such factors as appellant’s age.
Initially, we note that an order of-the trial court comes to an appellate court clothed with a presumption of correctness and it is not the function of an appellate court to substitute its judgment for that of the chancellor, unless it has been made to appear that the chancellor’s findings are clearly erroneous. Morrison v. Smith, 257 So. 2d 623 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972).
Sub judice, the trial court found that pursuant to the recommendation of appellee, which stands in loco parentis, having the responsibility to determine the proper adoptive home in which to place the child, the interests of L would best be served by dismissing appellant’s petition for adoption. As this finding by the trial court was based upon substantial competent evidence, the order appealed must accordingly be affirmed. Smith v. Lyst, 212 So. 2d 921 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968).
Any other points raised by appellant are without merit and need no discussion.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Smith v. Lyst, 212 So. 2d 921 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968)
- Grady B. Morrison and Edna E. Morrison v. Smith, 257 So. 2d 623 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)