In re K.K. et al.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that former R.C. 2151.35(B)(1) did not deprive a juvenile court of subject-matter jurisdiction when a dispositional hearing in an abuse, neglect, or dependency case occurred more than 90 days after the complaint was filed. The resulting judgment was voidable rather than void, and res judicata barred the parents from raising the issue after failing to object or directly appeal the temporary-custody orders. The court reversed the Twelfth District Court of Appeals and remanded for consideration of the remaining assignments of error.

Holdings

1. Former R.C. 2151.35(B)(1) did not express an intent to divest a juvenile court of subject-matter jurisdiction when the court failed to hold a dispositional hearing within 90 days after the complaint was filed.
2. The juvenile court's judgments granting temporary custody after the 90-day deadline were voidable, not void.
3. Res judicata barred the parents from challenging the juvenile court's compliance with the 90-day deadline because they did not raise the issue before the juvenile court or in a timely direct appeal from the temporary-custody judgments.

Questions Presented

1. Whether former R.C. 2151.35(B)(1)'s requirement that a dispositional hearing be held within 90 days of filing an abuse, neglect, or dependency complaint deprived the juvenile court of subject-matter jurisdiction.
2. Whether judgments granting temporary custody after the 90-day period were void or merely voidable.
3. Whether res judicata barred the parents from raising the 90-day dispositional-hearing challenge for the first time in an appeal from the permanent-custody judgment.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded