In re K.D.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the dismissal of C.D.’s petition to be appointed guardian of her granddaughter, K.D. The court held that the guardianship petition constituted an improper collateral attack on the prior child abuse and neglect proceedings and found no abuse of discretion in the circuit court’s dismissal.

Holdings

1. The circuit court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing C.D.'s petition for guardianship. Under Rule 15 of the West Virginia Rules of Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings, the petition could not be used to circumvent the consequences of the prior termination-of-parental-rights proceeding, and C.D. did not demonstrate that the circuit court's collateral-attack ruling was erroneous.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion by dismissing C.D.'s petition to be appointed K.D.'s guardian as an improper collateral attack on the prior abuse and neglect and parental-rights-termination proceedings.
2. Whether C.D.'s arguments regarding the care she provided to K.D. and the circumstances of her prior criminal conviction established error in the dismissal.

Disposition

affirmed