Juveniles
C.P. and L.P. filed a notice of appeal of the family division’s order,
following a permanency planning hearing, rejecting the parties’ proposed case
plan that would have modified the original disposition order and requiring the
Department for Children and Families (DCF) to submit a new case plan. We
conclude that the order being appealed was not a final appealable order and
therefore dismiss the appeal
The May 14 order was not a final appealable order because the order did not modify the original disposition order. Nor did
the court conclusively determine all matters before it at the permanency
hearing. See In re D.D., 2013 VT 79, ¶ 22, 194 Vt. 508, 82 A.3d 1143 (“An
appealable order is one that finally disposes of the matter before the court by
settling the rights of the parties on issues raised by the pleadings.”).
Rather,
the court rejected DCF’s permanency recommendations, directed DCF to prepare
and submit a new case plan, and set the matter for further hearing to review
the new plan. Cf. In re G.B., Juvenile, 2019 VT 48, ¶ 9 (concluding that order denying petition to terminate mother’s parental rights
was not final appealable order because, rather than finally resolving the
status of mother’s parental rights, it directed DCF to prepare new case plan).
Under
the particular circumstances of this case, the order being appealed was not a
final order to which they had a right to appeal. Appeal dismissed.
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