Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Sep 5, 2024
IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF BRITTANY M. SMITH, Respondent v. PATRICK A. SMITH, Respondent and GOLDIA M. KRANAWETTER, Proposed Intervenor/Appellant
Goldia Kranawetter, the maternal grandmother, sought to intervene in her grandchild's parents' dissolution modification proceeding to obtain visitation rights. The trial court denied her motion, finding she failed to show she had been unreasonably denied visitation for 90 days. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court erred by denying the motion to intervene on the merits of the visitation claim rather than on the statutory criteria for intervention. The court remanded with instructions to grant intervention and conduct an evidentiary hearing on the visitation merits.