Jennifer T. v. Lindsay P., 906 N.W.2d 49

Lindsay (biological mother) conceived child Chase via artificial insemination; Jennifer (former partner) helped rear Chase and claims she stood in loco parentis since birth.
Jennifer filed a district-court custody action seeking sole legal and physical custody and support; Lindsay later remarried Jessica.
Lindsay and Jessica filed a stepparent adoption petition in county court; Lindsay sought district-court consent under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-104(1)(b).
The district court consented to the county-court adoption and stayed the district custody action "until further order." Jennifer appealed the consent and stay.
This Court previously reversed a county-court order that denied Jennifer intervention because the county court lacked the district court’s consent to proceed; after that opinion, the district court renewed consent and reimposed the stay.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Jennifer)	Defendant's Argument (Lindsay)	Held
Whether the district court’s consent to the county-court adoption is a final, appealable order	Consent improperly deferred jurisdictional priority and prejudiced Jennifer’s in loco parentis/intervention rights	Consent merely permits the county court to entertain the adoption; it is not a merits determination	Consent is not a final order; it does not affect a substantial right and is not immediately appealable
Whether the district court’s stay of the custody action is a final, appealable order	The stay surrenders district-court jurisdictional priority and may moot Jennifer’s custody claim, thus affecting a substantial right	The stay is temporary to preserve comity and avoid duplicative litigation; it does not finally deny relief to Jennifer	The stay is not a final order; temporary deferral of jurisdictional priority does not, by itself, affect a substantial right

Latham v. Schwerdtfeger, 282 Neb. 121 (recognizing in loco parentis standing for former partner)
In re Adoption of Chase T., 295 Neb. 390 (county court lacks adoption jurisdiction without consent of other court with custody jurisdiction)
Klein v. Klein, 230 Neb. 385 (district-court consent to adoption is not a final appealable order)
In re Adoption of Madysen S. et al., 293 Neb. 646 (orders affecting consent/abandonment in adoption not final; appeal from final adoption judgment adequate)
Kremer v. Rural Community Ins. Co., 280 Neb. 591 (stay compelling arbitration was final where it was tantamount to dismissal of court remedy)
Charleen J. v. Blake O., 289 Neb. 454 (doctrine of jurisdictional priority and its administrative/comity purpose)