James Hendrix, Jr., and Tanya Hendrix v. Matt Black, Katie Black and K.B., a minor
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SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No.
07-997
JAMES HENDRIX, JR., and TANYA
HENDRIX,
APPELLANTS,
VS.
MATT BLACK, KATIE BLACK and K.B.,
a minor,
APPELLEES,
Opinion Delivered April
24, 2008
APPEAL FROM THE MONTGOMERY
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT,
NO. PR06-48,
HON. JERRY WAYNE LOONEY,
JUDGE,
AFFIRMED.
JIM HANNAH, Chief Justice
James Hendrix, Jr. and Tanya Hendrix appeal an order of the Circuit Court of
Montgomery County, Probate Division, denying their petition for grandparent visitation.
The Hendrixes raise two points on appeal. First, they argue that the circuit court erred when
it denied grandparent visitation rights. Second, they argue that the circuit court erred in
refusing to grant a hearing on visitation. We hold that there is no error and affirm. Appellate
jurisdiction lies in this court under Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 1-2(a)(1).
Facts
K. T. was born to Katie Natasha Black on June 4, 2002. K. T.’s putative father was
Joshua Troy Hendrix. Katie and Joshua were never married. Joshua died on October 9,
2001. The record does not reveal that Joshua was ever aware of Katie’s pregnancy. Further,
the record does not reveal that Joshua ever attempted to establish his paternity.
At some time prior to August 4, 2003, Katie married Matthew Black. On August 4,
the Johnson County Circuit Court, Domestic Relations Division, granted Katie’s Petition for
Paternity and entered a judgment of paternity declaring Joshua to be K. T.’s father. On
December 1, 2006, Katie and Matthew Black filed a petition in Montgomery County Circuit
Court, Probate Division, in which Matthew sought to adopt K. T. That petition was granted
on the day it was filed.
On February 13, 2007, the Hendrixes filed a petition to intervene in the probate
proceedings. They sought to set aside the adoption and obtain a visitation order. The circuit
court granted the motion to intervene,1 denied the petition to set aside the adoption, and
found that the petition for visitation should have been filed in the Domestic Relations
Division of the Montgomery County Circuit Court. The Hendrixes filed a timely notice of
appeal.
Denial of Visitation
The Hendrixes assert that the circuit court erred in finding that because “the biological
mother and not the deceased father proved paternity,” visitation could not be granted under
Ark. Code Ann. § 9-9-215(a)(1) (Supp. 2005). Section 9-9-215(a)(1)2 permits a court to
1
Intervention was granted because the court determined that James and Tonya
should have but were not given notice of the adoption petition; however, the court
concluded that they were not prejudiced by the failure to give notice. This decision is not
appealed.
2
Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-9-215(a)(1) (Repl. 2008) concerns the effect
of a decree of adoption. It provides in pertinent part that, although adoption cuts off all
legal relationships with the biological relatives, where a biological parent dies before a
petition for adoption has been filed by a stepparent, the court may grant visitation to the
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08-997
grant grandparent visitation to the biological grandparents whose legal relationship to the child
is cut off by the adoption. However, certain requirements must be met. One requirement
is that the putative father “legally established his paternity prior to the filing of a petition for
adoption by a stepparent.” Id.
We do not reach the issue of error in denying visitation because the Hendrixes
obtained no ruling on visitation. The circuit court stated in relevant part in the order as
follows:
A.C.A. Section 9-9-215(a)(1) contemplates the possibility of visitation rights to
parents of a deceased biological parent under these circumstances . . . The
Respondents may petition the Court with a new petition in the Domestic
Relations Division.
The circuit court stated that the statute “contemplates the possibility of visitation” and the
Hendrixes are instructed to file a “new petition in the Domestic Relations Division.” The
circuit court also stated that the rights to visitation must be established in accordance with
Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-103 (Supp. 2005); however, this is not a decision on visitation but
merely an affirmation of the circuit court’s belief that the petition had to be filed in the
domestic relations division where that statute is typically applied and where decisions on
visitation are typically made. Also, there is no ruling that the Hendrixes could not be granted
visitation under A.C.A. § 9-9-215(a)(1). The failure to obtain a ruling precludes appellate
review because there is no order of a lower court on the issue for this court to review on
appeal. Baker v. Rogers, 368 Ark. 134, 243 S.W.3d 94 (2006).
grandparents when certain requirements are met.
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08-997
Failure to Grant a Hearing
Alternatively, the Hendrixes argue that the circuit court erred in refusing to exercise
jurisdiction and hear the issue of visitation under section 9-9-215(a)(1). The question raised
is whether under Amendment 80,3 the probate division of the circuit court, which had
jurisdiction over the adoption, also had jurisdiction to hear the issue of visitation, which is an
issue within the jurisdiction of the domestic relations division of the circuit court.
We are unable to address this issue because the Hendrixes do not develop this
argument sufficiently to allow appellate review. The Hendrixes argue in their brief that the
circuit court erred in trying to force them to file a petition in the domestic relations division
and that no new petition was required. They provide in support of this argument a cite to
Amendment 80 to the Arkansas Constitution; however, there is no discussion of the
application of Amendment 80. They further argue that “the effect of the trial court’s ruling
denies the deceased biological grandparents their day in court and flies in the face of a clear
statutory duty to conduct a hearing.” There is no argument beyond that noted above. This
court will not consider an argument, even a constitutional one, if the appellant makes no
convincing argument or cites no authority to support it. See, e.g., Wooten v. State, 351 Ark.
241, 91 S.W.3d 63 (2002). Further, if appellant’s point is not apparent without further
research, this court will not hear the matter. Id. We simply will not address issues on appeal
3
While this issue is couched in terms of Amendment 80, it would necessarily
include application of Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order 14, implementing
Amendment 80, as well as the local administrative plan created pursuant to Administrative
Order 14 which provides for the assignment of cases filed in the circuit court, criminal,
civil, juvenile, probate, and domestic relations divisions.
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that are not appropriately developed. Spears v. Spears, 339 Ark. 162, 3 S.W.3d 691 (1999).
Affirmed.
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08-997
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