Camf v. Jbm

972 So. 2d 656, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 289, 2007 WL 1248170
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 1, 2007
Docket2005-CA-02227-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 972 So. 2d 656 (Camf v. Jbm) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Camf v. Jbm, 972 So. 2d 656, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 289, 2007 WL 1248170 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

972 So.2d 656 (2007)

C.A.M.F., Appellant
v.
J.B.M., Appellee.

No. 2005-CA-02227-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 1, 2007.
Rehearing Denied September 25, 2007.

*658 William Neal Small, Ronald Louis Taylor, attorneys for appellant.

Steven Glen Roberts, attorney for appellee.

Before LEE, P.J., BARNES and ISHEE, JJ.

BARNES, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. This is an appeal brought by C.A.M.F. (the Mother) from the order of the Chancery Court of DeSoto County modifying the custody of her then ten-year-old son (the Son). By order, the physical and legal custody was changed to J.B.M. (the Father).

¶ 2. The Mother on appeal contends that the chancellor misapplied the controlling legal precedent in custody modification, failed to address the applicable law relating to siblings and custody, committed manifest error in several evidentiary matters by the wrongful inclusion or exclusion of evidence, and adopted findings and conclusions not supported by the record.

¶ 3. We find no reversible error and affirm the chancellor's judgment.

*659 FACTS

¶ 4. The Mother and Father were divorced on April 14, 1999, in Shelby County, Tennessee. Their only child, a son, was born on March 5, 1995. The Mother remarried on May 28, 1999, and subsequently had another son with her new husband.

¶ 5. On September 26, 2003, the Father filed a petition in DeSoto County Chancery Court to enroll and modify the final divorce decree from Shelby County, Tennessee, which granted the Mother a divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment and awarded her custody of the minor child. The Shelby County Chancery Court declined jurisdiction, and the case continued in DeSoto County, which is now the residence of both parties.

¶ 6. The Father testified that he instituted the proceeding to modify custody after he found out some matters of concern about the Mother's new husband (M.A.F.)("Mike"[1]). First, the Father learned of allegations that Mike had taken nude photographs of the Son, not showing the child's face, when he was approximately six years old. According to the Father's testimony, a sheriff's department detective had asked the Father about the photographs. There was also testimony that the Son had been upset by the photographs.

¶ 7. Next, the Father learned that in Mike's prior divorce proceeding in Rankin County there was testimony that Mike, then using his middle name, was found to have repeatedly exposed himself to neighbors, relatives, and babysitters. The Father ultimately obtained certified copies of the divorce proceedings and provided them to his attorney.

¶ 8. The Father's mother (the Paternal Grandmother) testified that four years earlier she had gone to the Mother and her new husband's house to pick up the Son for the day and when she drove up Mike was standing at the door completely naked and in full view. She testified that Mike knew that she was coming. She also testified that on another occasion she brought the Son home from an outing and saw Mike standing in the pool without any clothes on, while the Mother and the other child were nearby fully clothed.

¶ 9. The Paternal Grandmother also testified that, on an occasion when she came to the custodial residence to pick the Son up for a wedding, the Son emerged from the home visibly distraught and told her that Mike had been choking the Mother and would not stop. The grandmother indicated that the Son was crying and seemed frightened when he made the statement. The Mother later told the Paternal Grandmother that she and Mike had been playing around and that the Son had the wrong impression of what had happened.

¶ 10. R.K.F. ("Rita") testified that she was married to Mike for two months in 1995. She testified that he had a habit of walking around the house in the nude and standing nude in front of an open window. She stated that nudity was an "issue" with her and with his daughter from a relationship prior to his marriage to Rita.

¶ 11. S.M.D. ("Susan") testified that she and Mike had a daughter in 1992 and that he was using his middle name then. Susan testified that when her daughter was two months old, she had an argument with Mike during which he shoved and pushed her, which lead to her leaving him. She also testified that he exposed himself to several people during their relationship, including two babysitters. Susan testified that she had been in litigation in Rankin County concerning Mike's inappropriate *660 behavior around their daughter. Susan testified that Mike had not seen his daughter for six years and had never sent any child support to her.

¶ 12. Melissa Gardner, the guardian ad litem for Mike and Susan's daughter, testified that there was never a final disposition of the custody in that case because Mike disappeared, failing to respond to any telephone calls or letters about the case.

¶ 13. Mike testified and acknowledged that he used a different name in Rankin County than he did in DeSoto County. He also admitted that he had not paid child support for his daughter. He admitted that on different occasions that babysitters had seen him naked. He also admitted to having been accused of inappropriate behavior toward female employees at River Oaks Hospital, where he had been employed. He denied taking the nude photographs of the Son. The Mother testified that she took the photographs.

¶ 14. In their arguments to the Court, both parties have overstated their relative positions, and the Court has chosen not to discuss the many inaccurate statements made by the parties in their briefs to the Court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 15. The standard of review in child custody cases is quite limited, and in order to reverse a chancellor he must be manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or have applied an erroneous legal standard. Hensarling v. Hensarling, 824 So.2d 583, 587(¶ 7) (Miss.2002); Williams v. Williams, 656 So.2d 325, 330 (Miss.1995); Chamblee v. Chamblee, 637 So.2d 850, 860 (Miss.1994). The Court reviews de novo whether the trial court applied the proper legal standard in deciding a custody modification. Morgan v. West, 812 So.2d 987, 990(¶ 8) (Miss.2002).

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER THE CHANCELLOR MISAPPLIED THE CONTROLLING LEGAL PRECEDENT IN CUSTODY MODIFICATION

¶ 16. The appellant argues that the chancellor committed manifest error when he misapplied Mabus v. Mabus, 847 So.2d 815 (Miss.2003), Riley v. Doerner, 677 So.2d 740 (Miss.1996), and Albright v. Albright, 437 So.2d 1003 (Miss.1983). It is the appellant's specific contention that the chancellor did not follow the procedure in Mabus, did not find any "adverse effect" on the child as a result of the alleged "change in circumstance," did not find either a dangerous or illegal environment in the custodial home, and proceeded to consider the factors in Albright and change custody based on speculation as to future harm.

¶ 17. In this case the chancellor did in fact discuss and apply the cases which the Mother contends were misapplied. In Mabus, the Court stated that the noncustodial parent must prove "(1) that a substantial change in circumstances has transpired since issuance of the custody decree; (2) that this change adversely affects the child's welfare; and (3) that the child's best interests mandate a change in custody." Mabus, 847 So.2d at 818(¶ 8) (quoting Bredemeier v. Jackson, 689 So.2d 770, 775 (Miss.1997)).

¶ 18. In reaching his conclusion in the present case, the chancellor also quoted extensively from Riley,

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Bluebook (online)
972 So. 2d 656, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 289, 2007 WL 1248170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/camf-v-jbm-missctapp-2007.