In re Prince T. CA2/2

Filed 11/5/13 In re Prince T. CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

In re PRINCE T. et al., Persons Coming B247459 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. CK68029)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

ANDREA P.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from findings and an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Timothy R. Saito, Judge. Reversed.

Marsha F. Levine, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

John F. Krattli, County Counsel, and William D. Thetford, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _________________

Andrea P. (mother) and Wilson T. (father) are the parents of Prince T. (Prince, born Feb. 2007), Savannah T. (Savannah, born July 2008), and Grant T. (Grant, born Aug. 2010). The juvenile court sustained allegations under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (j),1 against both parents and removed the children from parental custody. Mother appeals, arguing that the juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding is not supported by substantial evidence. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) concedes that there was insufficient evidence to support the jurisdictional finding by the juvenile court. We agree with the parties that the juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding is not supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we reverse the jurisdictional finding and the resulting dispositional findings and order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Companion Case Mother and father were involved in a companion case with respect to the children’s half-siblings, Jasmine T. (Jasmine) and D.T. (D.), father’s children by a different mother. In that case, a petition was filed in 2012 based on allegations that in 2007 mother had physically abused Jasmine by striking and biting her face, causing a laceration and bruises, and that father failed to take action to protect her. That petition was sustained in part and dismissed in part. On May 11, 2012, DCFS filed another dependency petition in the companion case that alleged, among other things, that mother had physically abused Jasmine by striking her nose with her fists, inflicting a bleeding laceration to the child’s nose, and that mother physically abused Jasmine on prior occasions by striking her and inflicting welts, bruises, and marks to her body. The petition further alleged that father knew of mother’s physical abuse of Jasmine and failed to protect her. On July 31, 2012, the juvenile court sustained