| Matter of Nancy C. v Alison C. |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 10619 [57 AD3d 986] |
| December 30, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| In the Matter of Nancy C., Appellant, v Alison C.,Respondent. (Appeal No. 1.) In the Matter of Brianna C. Alison C., Respondent; Nancy C.,Appellant. (Appeal No. 2.) |
—[*1] Salvatore C. Adamo, New York, N.Y., for respondent. Tracy Cass Mackenzie, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., attorney for the child Brianna C.
In a family offense proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 8, and a relatedproceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 6 for the appointment of a guardian of the personof Brianna C., a minor, Nancy C., the mother of Brianna C., appeals from (1) an order ofprotection of the Family Court, Dutchess County (Forman, J.), dated November 16, 2007, which,inter alia, directed that she stay away from Brianna C. until November 16, 2008, and (2) an orderof the same court, also dated November 16, 2007, which, after a hearing, appointed a guardian adlitem for her and, in effect, granted the petition and appointed a guardian of the person of BriannaC.
Ordered that the appeal from the order of protection is dismissed as academic, without costs[*2]or disbursements; and it is further,
Ordered that the order dated November 16, 2007, in effect, granting the petition for theappointment of a guardian of the person of Brianna C., and appointing a guardian of the personof Brianna C. is reversed, on the facts and in the exercise of discretion, without costs ordisbursements, and the matter is remitted to the Family Court, Dutchess County, for furtherproceedings on the petition in accordance herewith.
The order of protection expired by its own terms on November 16, 2008. Since the parties'rights will not be directly affected by a determination as to the propriety of the order ofprotection, the appeal from the order of protection has been rendered academic (see Matter ofCooper-Winfield v Gary, 9 AD3d 366 [2004]; Matter of Levande v Levande, 308AD2d 450, 451 [2003]). Further, the issuance of the order of protection in this case "did notconstitute a 'permanent and significant stigma which might indirectly affect the appellant's statusin potential future proceedings' " (Matter of McClure v McClure, 176 AD2d 325, 326[1991]; see Matter of Levande v Levande, 308 AD2d at 451; Matter ofCooper-Winfield v Gary, 9 AD3d at 366).
The mother correctly contends that the Family Court improvidently exercised its discretion inappointing a guardian ad litem for her in the absence of evidence indicating that she wasincapable of adequately prosecuting or defending her rights (cf. Matter of Barbara Anne B.,51 AD3d 1018 [2008]; Matter of Philip R., 293 AD2d 547 [2002]; see CPLR1201, 1202 [a]). Therefore, the guardian ad litem was not authorized to consent to theappointment of a guardian of the person of Brianna C.
The matter must be remitted to the Family Court, Dutchess County, for a new determinationas to whether the circumstances warrant the appointment of a guardian of the person of BriannaC. While the Family Court's power under SCPA 1701 and Family Court Act § 661 permits"the [Family] [C]ourt to appoint someone other than the infant's parent as a guardian [the courtmust make a] threshold finding of 'abandonment, unfitness, persistent neglect [by the parent] orother extraordinary circumstances,' which is the standard used in child custody cases" (Turano,Practice Commentaries, McKinney's Cons Laws of NY, Book 58A, SPCA 1701, at 5, quotingMatter of Merritt v Way, 85 AD2d 666, 667 [1981], affd 58 NY2d 850 [1983];see Matter of Bennett v Jeffreys, 40 NY2d 543 [1976]). Here, the record is inadequate toenable us to determine this issue. Skelos, J.P., Dillon, McCarthy and Eng, JJ., concur.