Tennessee Court Case: Skerrett v. Association

JENNIFER SKERRETT v. THE ASSOCIATION FOR GUIDANCE, AID, PLACEMENT AND EMPATHY, INC. 

No. M2002-00218-COA-R3-JV 

COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE, AT NASHVILLE 

2003 Tenn. App. LEXIS 486 

June 26, 2003, Assigned on Briefs 

July 11, 2003, Filed 

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Juvenile Court Affirmed. Appeal from the Juvenile Court for Davidson County. No. 2119-61120. Betty Adams Green, Judge. 

Affirmed. 

COUNSEL:
Clark Lee Shaw, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jennifer Skerrett.

Jade A. Rogers, Gallatin, Tennessee, for the appellee, The Association for Guidance, Aid, Placement, and Empathy, Inc. 

JUDGES:
WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which WILLIAM B. CAIN and PATRICIA J. COTTRELL, JJ., joined. 

OPINIONBY:
WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR. 

OPINION:

This appeal involves a paternal grandmother's efforts to obtain permanent custody of her grandson. After the child's mother surrendered him to a licensed child-placing agency, the grandmother intervened in the proceeding commenced in the Davidson County Juvenile Court to terminate her son's parental rights. Following a bench trial, the trial court terminated the father's parental rights and denied the grandmother's request for custody. While the grandmother does not contest the termination of her son's parental rights, she asserts on this appeal that the juvenile court erred by awarding custody of the child to the child-placing agency rather than to her. We have determined that, under the facts of this case, the grandmother lacked standing to intervene in the proceeding to terminate her son's parental rights. Therefore, we affirm the dismissal of her custody petition.
I.
Edwin Alexis Skerrett and Fatima Dominguez were both teenagers when they began dating in early 1999. They began living together in August 1999 but their relationship ended in March 2000 because of Mr. Skerrett's excessive drug use and his abusive conduct toward Ms. Dominguez. Three months later, Ms. Dominguez discovered she was pregnant with Mr. Skerrett's child. Mr. Skerrett declined to support Ms. Dominguez when he learned of her pregnancy, and Ms. Dominguez contacted a licensed child-placing agency, the Association for Guidance, Aid, Placement and Empathy, Inc. ("AGAPE"), for assistance. When the child was born on November 7, 2000, Ms. Dominguez permitted AGAPE to place him immediately in a pre-adoptive foster home. The child has been in this home since November 13, 2000.
AGAPE contacted Mr. Skerrett on November 10, 2000 to make arrangements for visitation and child support. In February 2001, after Mr. Skerrett had failed drug screens on every visitation, AGAPE established a plan of care for Mr. Skerrett that included treatment of this drug addiction. For the next five months, Mr. Skerrett continued to test positive for marijuana and cocaine, cancelled a number of scheduled visits with his son, and contributed only $ 500 for his son's support. Accordingly, on June 21, 2001, AGAPE filed a petition in the Davidson County Juvenile Court to terminate Mr. Skerrett's parental rights.