C.C. v. Cabinet for Health & Family Services

Opinion of the Court by

Justice NOBLE.

Appellant, C.C., appeals from a disposition order of the Lewis Circuit Court removing her children from her custody based on a finding of neglect. This appeal presents the question whether the Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically the rules regarding discovery, apply before the beginning of the adjudication hearing in a dependency, abuse, and neglect proceeding. The trial court and Court of Appeals held that the Civil Rules do not apply to such proceedings before the adjudication hearing. This Court disagrees.

I. Background

On May 15, 2009, Beth Arnold, a…