Bobbie Jo R. v. Traci W.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the dismissal of petitions seeking sibling visitation and intervention in a custody-related proceeding. The Court held that the family court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the sibling-visitation petition and that Bobbie Jo R. had no independent right or claim supporting intervention. The decision also discusses the requirements for intervention under West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 24.

Holdings

1. The family court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the petition for sibling visitation because West Virginia law assigns jurisdiction over sibling-visitation matters to the circuit courts, not family courts.
2. The denial of Bobbie Jo R.'s motion to intervene was not error because no statute conferred a right to intervene, she had no established legal relationship to Myles or Maddox, and she identified no claim or defense sharing a question of law or fact with the main action.
3. The Supreme Court may affirm a circuit court decision on any independently sufficient legal ground supported by the record, including a ground not relied upon below.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Family Court of Wood County had subject matter jurisdiction over a petition for sibling visitation under West Virginia Code § 48-9-103.
2. Whether the denial of Bobbie Jo R.'s motion to intervene was erroneous under Rule 24 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure.
3. Whether the lower courts erred by dismissing the petitions and by allegedly failing to address equal protection, due process, summary-judgment, and legal-authority arguments.

Disposition

affirmed