State of Louisiana, through Department of Children and Family Services Child Support Enforcement v. Daniel Trimble

STATE OF LOUISIANA

COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT

STATE OF LOUISIANA, THROUGH NO. 2021 CW 0310

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND
FAMILY SERVICES CHILD SUPPORT
ENFORCEMENT

VERSUS

CASANDRA NICOLE MORRIS AND MAY 24, 2021
DANIEL PATRICK TRIMBLE

In Re: State of Louisiana Department of Children and Family
Services Child Support Enforcement ( DCFS), applying
for writs, 22nd Judicial District Court,
supervisory
Parish of St. Tammany, No. 170815.

BEFORE: THERIOT, WOLFE, AND HESTER, JJ.

district which overruled
WRIT GRANTED. The court' s ruling,
filed the State of Louisiana,
the Exception of Prematurity by
Department of Children and Family Services (" DCFS"), is reversed.

Where there was no objection to the hearing officer' s

recommendations and where the district court' s March 11, 2020

judgment was not rendered or signed in open court, DCFS was

entitled to notice of the March 11, 2020 judgment. See La. R. S.

7); La. Code Civ. P. art. 1913( A) & La. Code
46: 236. 5( C)( see also

Civ. P. art. 1914( B). Where DCFS represents it was not given

notice of the March 11, 2020 judgment and no evidence was

introduced to the the district court erred in denying
contrary,
The Exception of Prematurity is
DCFS' s Exception of Prematurity.
granted, and the Rule for Contempt is dismissed, without prejudice.

the district court' s ruling, which denied DCFS' s
Additionally,
Motion for Protective Order, is reversed. Applications for
of
assistance and information contained in case records of clients

the Department of Children and Family Services shall be

confidential. La. R. S. 46: 56( A). Case records are " assistance

would include DCFS' s case records of child support
records" and

enforcement. See La. R. S. 46: 56( B)( 2). La. R. S. 46: 56( D) provides

confidential information may be released to an outside source

connected with the administration of the programs of
not directly
the department only upon written request of the outside source and
after written waiver by the applicant, client, or his legal
only
representative." The provisions of La. R. S. 46: 56 have not been

the district court abused its discretion in
met. Accordingly,
which is granted. DCFS is
denying the Motion for Protective Order,
not required to produce documents from its electronic case file

contained in the Louisiana Automated Support Enforcement System

Case Number 2411938- 01 to Daniel Trimble.

MRT
EW

CHH

COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST CIRCUIT

DEPUTY CLERK OF COURT
FOR THE COURT