Colorado Court Case: In re I.R.D.

Upon the Petition of: I.R.D., Petitioner-Appellee, For the Adoption of: G.L.R., Minor Child, and Concerning S.C.R., Respondent-Appellant. No. 98CA0159

COURT OF APPEALS OF COLORADO, DIVISION ONE 971 P.2d 702; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 6376

December 24, 1998, Decided Released for Publication February 16, 1999.

Appeal from the District Court of Jefferson County. Honorable Michael C. Villano, Judge. No. 97JA185.

JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.

COUNSEL:

Bonnie M. J. Schriner, Denver, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee. Rice, Coppola & Hamrick, P.C., Joseph L. Coppola, Greenwood Village, Colorado, for Respondent-Appellant.

JUDGES:

Opinion by JUDGE METZGER. Plank and Rothenberg, JJ., concur.

OPINION:

Opinion by JUDGE METZGER S.C.R. (father) appeals the judgment terminating his parent-child legal relationship with his son, G.L.R. We affirm. G.L.R. was born in Missouri on May 26, 1992. Although father has never disclaimed paternity, he refused to place his name on the birth certificate, fearing that he might later be held financially responsible for the child. Mother and father had a stormy relationship, with episodes of domestic violence. Several times mother returned to her parents' home in Colorado, only to reconcile with father and return to Missouri. In April 1995, mother married I.R.D. (stepfather) and returned to Colorado permanently. In May 1995, father filed a paternity action in Missouri and had mother served personally in Colorado in July 1996. In the meantime, mother had filed a custody action in Colorado in May 1996. In August 1997, stepfather filed a verified petition for stepparent adoption, which indicated that there was no prior custody order and that mother had consented to the adoption. Father objected to the petition, stating that he had not abandoned G.L.R., had attempted to obtain visitation, and had filed a custody petition in another court. Father also filed a motion to dismiss the petition, alleging that it failed to allege a basis under which G.L.R. was available for adoption. He asserted that the child was not available for adoption and reiterated that he did not consent to the adoption and had been "fighting" to obtain custody of, and parenting time with, him. Finally, father maintained that mother had been secreting G.L.R. and should not be rewarded for that action. At the hearing, held in February 1998, father admitted that he had provided no support for G.L.R. since August 1994.

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