IN RE MEYERS MINORS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of ALEXIS MEYERS and ZACHARY
TYLER MEYERS, Minors.
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,
UNPUBLISHED
September 1, 2009
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 290434
Clinton Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 07-019841-NA
JEFFREY MEYERS,
Respondent-Appellant,
and
KELLY BATES,
Respondent.
Before: Owens, P.J., and Talbot and Gleicher, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Respondent Jeffrey Meyers appeals as of right the circuit court’s order terminating his
parental rights to the minor children under MCL 712A.19b(3)(b)(i), (c)(i), (g) and (j). We
affirm.
In August 2007, petitioner sought temporary custody of involved minor AM by filing a
petition that contained several allegations of abuse and neglect: (1) respondent father and the
child’s mother had shared a volatile relationship over the course of at least four years; the
relationship involved physical and verbal abuse by the mother toward respondent father,
although respondent father maintained that he only verbally abused the mother, (2) the mother
purportedly suffered from bipolar disorder and major depression, with self-mutilation tendencies,
(3) in June 2006, the mother had used a piece of glass to cut her arm, but at some point placed
the shard of glass against AM’s neck, (4) in April 2007, the mother punched AM’s hand, (5) in
May 2007, the mother “repeatedly kicked her daughter in the back of the head leaving marks,”
(6) the mother left Michigan, and neither she nor respondent father complied with any offered
services, and (7) respondent father visited the mother in Ohio on two occasions, and later drove
the mother back to Michigan and allowed her to supervise AM while he worked.
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The circuit court exercised jurisdiction over AM on the basis of respondents’ limited
admissions to the petition’s allegations. In August 2008, after ZM’s birth, petitioner filed a
supplemental petition seeking temporary custody of him. In December 2008, petitioner filed a
permanent custody petition requesting termination of respondents’ parental rights to both
children. The permanent custody petition averred, in relevant part, that (1) respondent father
repeatedly had ignored case worker instructions and a court order that he not have contact with
the children’s mother; among other contacts, respondent father impregnated the mother after
entry of the no contact order and was with the mother during her arrest in October 2008, (2)
respondent father faced eviction, lacked employment, and had “abruptly stopped attending
counseling . . . and court ordered programming,” and (3) a psychologist diagnosed respondent
father as having “Intermittent Explosive Disorder” and “Dependent Personality Features,” with a
“guarded” prognosis. At the conclusion of the January 2009 termination hearing, the circuit
court found that the evidence warranted termination of respondents’ parental rights pursuant to
the four statutory grounds therein set forth.
To terminate parental rights, a court must find that the petitioner has proved at least one
of the statutory grounds for termination set forth in MCL 712A.19b(3) by clear and convincing
evidence. In re Sours, 459 Mich 624, 632-633; 593 NW2d 520 (1999). “If the court finds that
there are grounds for termination of parental rights and that termination of parental rights is in
the child’s best interests, the court shall order termination of parental rights . . . .” MCL
712A.19b(5). This Court reviews for clear error a circuit court’s finding that a ground for
termination has been established by clear and convincing evidence “and, where appropriate, the
court’s decision regarding the child’s best interest.” In re Fried, 266 Mich App 535, 541; 702
NW2d 192 (2005) (internal quotation omitted); see also MCR 3.977(J). Clear error exists when
some evidence supports a finding, but a review of the entire record leaves the reviewing court
with the definite and firm conviction that the lower court made a mistake. In re Conley, 216
Mich App 41, 42; 549 NW2d 353 (1996).
The conditions leading to AM’s adjudication consisted of domestic violence between
respondent father and the child’s mother that resulted in AM enduring physical injury,
respondent father’s inability to protect AM, and his failure to provide a safe and stable home
environment. Between August 2007 and January 2009, respondent father demonstrated no
measurable progress or improvement in any of these areas of concern. Respondent father
underwent a psychological evaluation, attended some counseling sessions and a parenting
course, and availed himself of many parenting times. But he undisputedly failed to follow
though in attending counseling or to benefit from it, failed to benefit from parenting classes, and
failed to advance beyond supervised parenting times. And on numerous occasions throughout
these child protective proceedings, respondent father ignored a court order prohibiting contact
with the children’s mother, despite the volatile nature of their relationship, and at the time of the
termination hearing he had not substantiated employment or stable housing.
Clear and convincing evidence thus established that the conditions leading to the
adjudication continued to exist at the time of the termination hearing, with no reasonable
likelihood of rectification by respondent father in a reasonable time, given the children’s young
ages. MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i). The clear and convincing evidence establishing respondent
father’s unwillingness or inability to address or accept responsibility for the issues that led to the
children’s removal also warranted termination of his parental rights under MCL 712A.19b(3)(g).
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Additionally, in light of the evidence documenting respondent father’s history of exposing AM
to domestic violence, his past failures to protect AM, his failure to address or accept
responsibility for his parental shortcomings, and his continued association with the children’s
mother in violation of a court order, clear and convincing evidence further establishes the
existence of a reasonable likelihood that the children would suffer harm if placed in respondent
father’s custody.1
Lastly, the circuit court did not clearly err in finding that termination of respondent
father’s parental rights served the children’s best interests. MCL 712A.19b(5). Over an
approximate 18-month period, respondent father had made no progress toward addressing the
issues that brought the children into care, and the very young children needed stability to
facilitate their continued growth and development.
Affirmed.
/s/ Donald S. Owens
/s/ Michael J. Talbot
/s/ Elizabeth L. Gleicher
1
Even assuming that the circuit court erred in relying on MCL 712A.19b(3)(b)(i) as a ground for
terminating respondent father’s parental rights, this error is harmless in light of the other
statutory grounds that the circuit court properly invoked in terminating his rights. In re Powers,
244 Mich App 111, 118; 624 NW2d 472 (2000).
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