Cireddu v. Clough

2013 Ohio 2042
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided May 20, 2013·No. 2012-L-103·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT LAKE COUNTY, OHIO

JAMES V. CIREDDU, et al., : OPINION

Plaintiff-Appellee, :

CASE NO. 2012-L-103

- vs - :

STEPHANIE Y. CLOUGH, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

Appeal from the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, Case No. 2008 CV 02029.

Judgment: Affirmed.

Hans C. Kuenzi, Hans C. Kuenzi Co., L.P.A., 1660 W. Second Street, Suite 410, Cleveland, OH 44113 (For Plaintiff-Appellee).

Stephanie Y. Clough, pro se, 8060 Wright Road, Broadwater Heights, OH 44147 (Defendant-Appellant).

Rebecca Castell, 12690 Opalocka Drive, Chesterland, OH 44026 (Guardian ad litem).

DIANE V. GRENDELL, J.

{¶1} Appellant, Stephanie Y. Clough, appeals the judgment of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, denying her Motion for Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities/Motion for Shared Parenting. The issues to be determined by this court are whether a court, when ruling on a motion to modify parental rights, may consider whether a change in circumstances is material and adverse to the children; whether a change in circumstances occurs when the non-custodial parent becomes

married, gets a new job, and moves closer to her children; and whether a best interest determination is necessary when the court decides there is no change of circumstances. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court.

{¶2} On October 14, 2008, appellee, James V. Cireddu filed a Complaint with the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, to determine custody of his and Clough’s two minor children, J.C., born on January 18, 2006, and G.C., born on December 11, 2008.

{¶3} Following a trial, on August 13, 2009, the magistrate issued a Magistrate’s Decision and recommended granting legal custody of the children to Cireddu. In that Decision, the magistrate found that shared parenting was not feasible in this case, since Clough “is not likely to honor court-ordered parenting time with [Cireddu].” Additionally, the magistrate concluded that the geographical distance between the parents was not conducive to shared parenting. The trial court subsequently adopted this recommendation and Cireddu was granted legal custody.

{¶4} The custody determination was affirmed by this court in Cireddu v.

Clough, 11th Dist. No. 2010-L-008, 2010-Ohio-5401.1

{¶5} Various other issues have been litigated by the parties following the custody determination, including a Motion to Determine Party Responsible for Transportation of the Minor Children, filed on February 25, 2010, a Motion to Establish Schedule of Telephone Contact filed on June 10, 2010, and a Motion to Compel Exchange of Information, filed on September 21, 2010.

1. The lower court’s judgment was reversed in part, due to this court’s conclusion that an error was made in stating the appropriate date for the commencement of child support payments.

{¶6} On May 10, 2011, the trial court issued a Judgment Entry ordering Cireddu to make the children available for telephone conversations, notify Clough if they are unavailable, and arrange for compensatory telephone contact when necessary. Clough’s Motion to Compel Exchange of Information was also well-taken, requiring Cireddu to provide Clough with information about the children, including their school and medical information.

{¶7} The issue of the children’s surname was also raised in the initial Complaint and, after several different hearings and judgments, the lower court held that the children would retain Clough’s surname. The lower court’s ruling was appealed to this court on September 9, 2011, and was affirmed. Cireddu v. Clough, 11th Dist. No. 2011-L-121, 2012-Ohio-2242, ¶ 27 (holding that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in determining that no further hearing was required on the matter of the children’s surname).

{¶8} The present matter was initiated by Clough’s Motion for Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities/Motion for Shared Parenting, filed on August 18, 2011. In this Motion, she contends that there was a change in circumstances to warrant a modification of parental rights, including that Clough would be relocating to Cuyahoga County in July 2012.

{¶9} A hearing was held on Clough’s Motion on April 24-25, 2012. The following pertinent testimony was presented.

{¶10} Cireddu testified that he did not believe that Clough should have custody or that a shared parenting plan should be adopted, since changing the custody arrangement would be disruptive to the children, who had a stable routine in his home. He explained that he and the two children live in Brecksville with his mother, Victoria

Cross-Cireddu, who watches the children while he is performing his duties as a medical resident. She would continue to watch the children when he began working as a cardiology fellow in the summer of 2012.

{¶11} Cireddu explained that he generally complied with the phone call schedule set by the court unless the children were asleep or otherwise unavailable to speak with Clough. He believed Clough made efforts to alienate the children from him and it was difficult to compromise with Clough on issues related to the care of the children.

{¶12} Clough testified that she had previously been living in Hilliard, Ohio, but was selling that residence and had just purchased a home in Broadview Heights, in J.C.’s current school district. She explained that she was married to Philip Shipman, a nurse, in 2010, and had a child with him, A.C. She would be starting a pulmonary critical care fellowship at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland in July of 2012.

{¶13} Clough testified that she had difficulty receiving information about the children’s medical treatment and activities from Cireddu. She also explained that the children were not always made available for phone calls by Cireddu at the time ordered in the court’s prior Judgment Entry. She also noted that Cireddu had been using the improper surname for the children on several occasions. Clough believed shared parenting would have a positive impact on the children.

{¶14} Philip Shipman, Clough’s husband, testified that he interacts well with the children. He also explained that he and Clough had difficulty obtaining information about the children from Cireddu and that Clough and Cireddu had difficulty communicating.

{¶15} Victoria Cross-Cireddu, Cireddu’s mother, testified that she cares for the children while Cireddu is working. She explained that they have a good relationship with him.

{¶16} The guardian ad litem (GAL), Rebecca Castell, testified that she recommended the court adopt a shared parenting plan. She filed a GAL Report with the court, reaching the same conclusion on April 16, 2012. She believed that Clough had changed and is more willing to cooperate with Cireddu than she had been in the past. She also felt that Clough’s move near Cireddu was a step toward working together with him. She believed that the changes Clough made constituted a change in circumstances for the purpose of modifying custody.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cireddu v. Clough, 2013 Ohio 2042 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).

2013 Ohio 2042 (Cireddu v. Clough) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

In re J.C.
2025 Ohio 4753 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State ex rel. S.Y.C. v. Floyd
2024 Ohio 1387 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2024)
S.M. v. N.G.
2023 Ohio 2883 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
Hoying v. Hoying
2022 Ohio 2515 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
Cireddu v. Clough
2014 Ohio 2454 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
Cireddu v. Clough
4 N.E.3d 1049 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2014)