In re Pablo A. CA2/4

Filed 5/21/24 In re Pablo A. CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a).

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR

In re PABLO A., A Person B327164 Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY Los Angeles County DEPARTMENT OF Super. Ct. No. CHILDREN AND FAMILY 20CCJP05129 SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

T.F.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mary E. Kelly, Judge. Dismissed. Paul Couenhoven, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Dawyn R. Harrison, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, Aileen Wong, Senior Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION

Mother, T.F., appeals from the juvenile court’s order removing the child, Pablo. A., from her, releasing the child to father, Juan A., under supervision of the Department of Children and Family Services (Department), and ordering monitored visits for mother. After mother filed this appeal, the juvenile court terminated jurisdiction and entered an order granting mother and father joint legal custody, but ordered father sole physical custody of Pablo A. and monitored visits for mother (the exit order). Mother neither appealed from the exit order nor the order terminating jurisdiction. After mother filed her opening brief on appeal, but before briefing was complete, the Department moved to dismiss the appeal on the ground that it is moot. We preliminarily denied the motion to dismiss the appeal but, on further consideration, we agree the appeal is moot, and we decline to exercise our discretion to reach the merits of the appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal as moot.

DISCUSSION

“A case becomes moot when events ‘“render[ ] it impossible for [a] court, if it should decide the case in favor of [the party seeking redress], to grant him [or her] any effect[ive] relief.”’ [Citation.] For relief to be ‘effective,’ two requirements must be met. First, the [party] must complain of an ongoing harm. Second, the harm must be redressable or capable of being rectified by the outcome the [party] seeks. [Citation.] [¶] This rule applies in the dependency context. [Citation.] A reviewing court must ‘“decide on a case-by-case basis whether subsequent events in a juvenile dependency matter make a case moot and whether