San Bernardino County Department of Public Social Services v. David O.

Opinion

TIMLIN, J. —David O. (father) has appealed from an order terminating his parental rights as to Andrew V. (minor), following a trial of the consolidated matters of father’s action to establish paternity and the department of public social services’ (DPSS) subsequent petition to terminate father’s parental rights.

Facts

Father and the minor’s mother lived together. When the minor’s mother told father she was pregnant with the minor, father left to live with his family [1289]in Missouri. Mother contacted DPSS about a month before she gave birth to arrange to have the minor adopted. The child was born on April 22, 1989, and placed in a foster home specially licensed to care for drug-exposed infants after medical reports indicated the minor had been exposed to drugs while in útero.

The DPSS social worker assigned to the case spoke with father about four days after minor’s birth, telling him of the mother’s plan to have the minor adopted and warning him that he would need to seek a judicial determination of his paternity of minor if he did not want the minor to be adopted. On May 9, father was served with a notice pursuant to Civil Code section 7017, subdivision (b)1 advising him that he is or could be the minor’s natural father and that the minor was to be adopted or placed for adoption.

On June 13, mother formally relinquished the minor for adoption. On June 22, father commenced an action under section 7006, subdivision (c) to establish his paternity of minor and sought an order to show cause re child custody and visitation. On July 13, DPSS filed a petition to terminate father’s parental rights under section 7017, subdivision (b). Father’s paternity proceeding was consolidated with the section 7017 termination proceeding pursuant to section 7006, subdivision (c). DPSS’s petition alleged in part that father was the natural father of minor but not a presumed father under section 7004.

After a number of continuances, the matter was finally heard nine months after the section 7017, subdivision (b) petition was filed. The trial court found father to be the natural parent of minor and ordered father’s parental rights terminated. Father then filed a timely notice of appeal from the judgment of termination.

On appeal, father contends that there is no substantial evidence to support the trial court’s finding that it was in the best interest of the minor to terminate father’s parental rights. Father also contends that the excessive continuances granted in this case resulted in prejudice to him, and is a sufficient basis upon which we may reverse the judgment.