Dep't. of Human Services v. T.J.N.

The party moving for dismissal has the burden to establish that a case is moot, which includes establishing (1) that there is a controversy between the parties, and (2) that the “decision being challenged on appeal will have no further practical effect on the rights of the parties.” Dep't. of Human Services v. A. B., 362 Or 412, 426 (2018).

The juvenile court changed the children’s “placement preference” to foster care after they were in substitute care for less than ten months. A month later, the court issued a limited review judgment continuing that placement. Parents appealed, arguing the court lacked authority to remove the children because there was no evidence that this was in the children’s best interest, and that because ORS 419b.498(1)(a) requires DHS to petition to terminate parental rights (TPR) after children have been in their care for fifteen out of the most recent twenty-two months, their appeal could not be denied. DHS responded that the appeal was moot because the later judgment superseded the initial decision being appealed. The party moving for dismissal has the burden to establish that a case is moot, which includes establishing (1) that there is a controversy between the parties, and (2) that the “decision being challenged on appeal will have no further practical effect on the rights of the parties.” Dep't. of Human Services v. A. B., 362 Or 412, 426 (2018). The Court agreed that limited review judgment superseded the initial decision changing the children’s placement preference. After considering the case’s timeline, the evidence favoring mother’s progress and for her children to be returned home within a reasonable period, and the other variables affecting DHS’s decision to file a TPR petition, the Court determined that the decision being challenged had no practical effect on any of the parties. Appeals dismissed as moot.