V.M.

*247 Opinion

INTRODUCTION

The trial court was not justified in asserting dependency jurisdiction over the child in this case, who had never been abused or neglected by anyone. The child, V.M., came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) after her father asserted his right to custody of his daughter, seeking to gradually remove the child from the only home she had ever known where she lived with her maternal grandparents after her mother’s death.

V.M. was seven years old when she twisted her ankle at school and stayed home for a week. Her father, wondering why his daughter was not in school (her grandparents having told him nothing about the injury), went to her school to inquire. The principal had known the family for years and recognized him as V.M.’s father (father). The principal told father how his daughter sprained her ankle and encouraged him to visit V.M., who was back in school. After that, father went to the grandparents’ home to make arrangements to take custody of her; the grandparents did not cooperate; father called for police assistance; and soon thereafter, the grandparents hired a lawyer to file a…