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Civil Procedure—Court Inflexibility Puts Appellant In A Bad Position Regarding Attorney Mistake—In Re Welfare Of J.R., Jr., Douglas L. Pfeifer

William Mitchell Law Review

Recently, in the case of In re Welfare of J.R., Jr., a proceeding involving the termination of a mother's parental rights, the Minnesota Supreme Court was faced with the issue of whether to affirm a court of appeals order dismissing the mother's appeal for failure to timely serve notice on the child's guardian ad litem, or to excuse the delay under an analysis similar to that required when a party seeks relief from a final judgment or order under Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 60.02 (“Rule 60.02”). The appellant argued that in cases involving the termination of parental rights, a …