A.D.W. v. L.A.K.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 15, 2016
Docket507 WDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of A.D.W. v. L.A.K. (A.D.W. v. L.A.K.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.D.W. v. L.A.K., (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

J-A29025-16

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

A.D.W. IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

L.A.K.

Appellant No. 507 WDA 2016

Appeal from the Order Entered March 11, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Jefferson County Civil Division at No(s): 560 CD 2013

BEFORE: DUBOW, J., MOULTON, J., and MUSMANNO, J.

MEMORANDUM BY MOULTON, J.: FILED DECEMBER 15, 2016

L.A.K. (“Father”) appeals from the March 11, 2016 Order entered in

the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas granting the petitions of

A.D.W. (“Mother”) for relocation to California and modification of custody of

their child, J.T.W. (“Child”). We affirm.

On July 14, 2014, the trial court denied Mother’s earlier proposed

relocation to Hawaii and modified Father’s partial custody schedule. Mother,

who had already relocated to Hawaii with Child, appealed. On April 10,

2015, this Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. After Father filed a

petition to enforce the custody order, Mother returned to Pennsylvania and

immediately filed petitions to modify the custody order and to relocate to

San Francisco, California. On March 11, 2016, after hearing testimony over

the course of three days, the trial court granted Mother’s petition to relocate. J-A29025-16

The trial court also granted primary physical custody to Mother and partial

physical custody and visitation to Father. Father filed a timely notice of

appeal.

The trial court ably set forth its factual findings, which we adopt and

incorporate herein. See Trial Court’s Findings of Fact, Discussion and

Conclusions of Law, 3/11/16, at 1-27 (“Trial Ct. Op.”).

Father raises the following issues on appeal:

I. Did the Trial Court err and/or abuse its discretion in misapplying the facts to the statutory factors under 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5328, resulting in numerous conclusions that are unreasonable under the circumstances as shown by the record?

II. Did the Trial Court err and/or abuse its discretion in that it unreasonably did not give any consideration to mother’s history of contemptuous behavior?

III. Did the Trial Court err and/or abuse its discretion in that it unreasonably did not give any consideration to mother’s history of lodging false accusations against father?

IV. Did the Trial Court err and/or abuse its discretion when it reached inconsistent conclusions, which are not supported by the record?

V. Did the Trial Court err and/or abuse its discretion when it did not require mother to fully meet her burden in determining that the relocation is in the child’s best interest?

VI. Did the Trial Court err and/or abuse its discretion in its application of 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5337(h)?

Father’s Br. at 38-39.

-2- J-A29025-16

“Our concern in any custody or relocation matter is the best interest of

the child, which considers all factors, on a case-by-case basis, that

legitimately affect a child’s physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual well-

being.” S.J.S. v. M.J.S., 76 A.3d 541, 554 (Pa.Super. 2013). In custody

cases, our standard of review is as follows:

In reviewing a custody order, our scope is of the broadest type and our standard is abuse of discretion. We must accept findings of the trial court that are supported by competent evidence of record, as our role does not include making independent factual determinations. In addition, with regard to issues of credibility and weight of the evidence, we must defer to the presiding trial judge who viewed and assessed the witnesses first-hand. However, we are not bound by the trial court’s deductions or inferences from its factual findings. Ultimately, the test is whether the trial court’s conclusions are unreasonable as shown by the evidence of record. We may reject the conclusions of the trial court only if they involve an error of law, or are unreasonable in light of the sustainable findings of the trial court.

C.R.F. v. S.E.F., 45 A.3d 441, 443 (Pa.Super. 2012) (quoting A.D. v.

M.A.B., 989 A.2d 32, 35-36 (Pa.Super. 2010)) (internal citations omitted).

This Court has also stated that “the discretion that a trial court employs in

custody matters should be accorded the utmost respect, given the special

nature of the proceeding and the lasting impact the result will have on the

lives of the parties concerned.” Ketterer v. Seifert, 902 A.2d 533, 540

(Pa.Super. 2006) (quoting Jackson v. Beck, 858 A.2d 1250, 1254

(Pa.Super. 2004)). “[T]he knowledge gained by a trial court in observing

-3- J-A29025-16

witnesses in a custody proceeding cannot adequately be imparted to an

appellate court by a printed record.” Id.

“An abuse of discretion is not merely an error of judgment.”

Bulgarelli v. Bulgarelli, 934 A.2d 107, 111 (Pa. Super. 2007) (quoting

Arbet v. Arbet, 863 A.2d 34, 39 (Pa.Super. 2004)). A trial court abuses its

discretion when it “overrides or misapplies the law, or exercises judgment

which is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias

or ill will.” ABG Promotions v. Parkway Publ’g, Inc., 834 A.2d 613, 616

(Pa.Super. 2013) (en banc).

In his first issue, Father contends that the trial court misapplied the

factors in 23 Pa.C.S. § 53281 in reaching its decision. Father’s Br. at 43-44.

____________________________________________

1 The factors to be considered when determining an award of custody are:

(1) Which party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact between the child and another party. (2) The present and past abuse committed by a party or member of the party's household, whether there is a continued risk of harm to the child or an abused party and which party can better provide adequate physical safeguards and supervision of the child. (2.1) The information set forth in section 5329.1(a) (relating to consideration of child abuse and involvement with protective services). (3) The parental duties performed by each party on behalf of the child. (4) The need for stability and continuity in the child's education, family life and community life. (5) The availability of extended family. (Footnote Continued Next Page)

-4- J-A29025-16

In particular, Father argues that the trial court misapplied the first factor,

“[w]hich party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and

continuing contact between the child and another party.” Id. Father argues

that the trial court erred in making the unsubstantiated finding that he would

deprive Mother of custody. Id. at 44. Father also argues that the trial court

erred in applying the fifth factor, “availability of extended family.” Id. at 43,

_______________________ (Footnote Continued)

(6) The child's sibling relationships. (7) The well-reasoned preference of the child, based on the child's maturity and judgment.

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Related

Ketterer v. Seifert
902 A.2d 533 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
ABG Promotions v. Parkway Publishing, Inc.
834 A.2d 613 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)
Bulgarelli v. Bulgarelli
934 A.2d 107 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Jackson v. Beck
858 A.2d 1250 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2004)
Arbet v. Arbet
863 A.2d 34 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2004)
A.D. v. M.A.B.
989 A.2d 32 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2010)
C.R.F. v. S.E.F
45 A.3d 441 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2012)
S.J.S. v. M.J.S.
76 A.3d 541 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
A.D.W. v. L.A.K., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adw-v-lak-pasuperct-2016.