In a child protection proceeding, the applicant society moved for summary judgment on the protection finding and separately sought to strike the mother’s answer and plan of care.
The court permitted the summary judgment motion to proceed despite its lateness because the matter had been delayed repeatedly and the child’s best interests required movement toward finality.
On the admitted record, the court held that the combination of eviction, police involvement, and the mother’s involuntary hospitalization established a risk of physical harm under s. 74(2)(b)(i) of the CYFSA, but declined to find that no parent was available to make adequate care arrangements under s. 74(2)(k) because the record did not show sufficient effort to obtain the mother’s input.
The motion to strike pleadings was dismissed because striking is a last-resort remedy and the mother’s recent non-attendance did not justify it in the context of her broader participation and self-represented status.
