Clarke v. Clarke

2012 UT App 328, 292 P.3d 76, 722 Utah Adv. Rep. 21, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 335, 2012 WL 5883150
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedNovember 23, 2012
Docket20110230-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 2012 UT App 328 (Clarke v. Clarke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clarke v. Clarke, 2012 UT App 328, 292 P.3d 76, 722 Utah Adv. Rep. 21, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 335, 2012 WL 5883150 (Utah Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

*78 MEMORANDUM DECISION

ROTH, Judge:

T1 This case arises out of a divorce rife with conflict between Joshua Clarke (Husband) and Cassie Jean Clarke (Wife) Husband challenges several decisions made by the district court in entering the divorce decree, particularly concerning the court's property distribution and its decision to award full legal and physical custody of the parties' children to Wife. Husband also challenges the district court's decision to hold him in contempt and award related attorney fees to Wife. We affirm but reverse and remand for recalculation of attorney fees.

I. Custody

12 Husband first challenges the district court's decision to award Wife sole legal and physical custody of their children. In reviewing "initial custody awards, we give trial courts broad discretion. So long as that discretion is exercised within the confines of the legal standards we have set ... we will not disturb the resulting award." Davis v. Davis, 749 P.2d 647, 648 (Utah 1988) (citations omitted). "The trial court's discretion stems from the reality that in some cases the court must choose one custodian from two excellent parents, and its proximity to the evidence places it in a more advantaged position than an appellate court." Tucker v. Tucker, 910 P.2d 1209, 1214 (Utah 1996). Indeed, "olur statutes and case law are consistent and clear with respect to the considerable discretion allowed the trial court in child custody matters, with the controlling factor being that which is in the best interest and welfare of the minor child." Rice v. Rice, 564 P.2d 305, 306 (Utah 1977); see also Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-10(1)(a) (Supp.2012) 1 ("In determining any form of custody, the court shall consider the best interests of the child ...."); id. § 30-3-10.2(2) (2007) (listing several factors that are relevant to determining "the best interest of a child"); Mecham v. Mecham, 544 P.2d 479, 480 (Utah 1975) (explaining that in determining custody, the best interest of the child "is of paramount importance"). The determination of the best interest of the child requires consideration of a number of nonexhaustive statutory factors, which have been supplemented and expanded by our case law. See Utah Code Ann. §§ 30-3-10(1)(a)@)-(iv), -10.2(2); see, eg., Tucker, 910 P.2d at 1215 (listing numerous factors the district court may consider to determine the best interest of the child).

13 In challenging the district court's decision to award sole legal and physical custody of the children to Wife, Husband argues that the "court failed to properly analyze, weigh and apply the statutory and common law custody factors and therefore erred in awarding custody to" Wife. In particular, Husband raises two arguments. First, he argues that the district court "did not give sufficient weight to ... [Wifel's criminal conviction for custodial interference." Second, Husband argues that the district court "did not give proper weight to [his] clearly established role as the primary caretaker of the children during the marriage." However, in asserting that the court should have given more weight to these particular factors, Husband overlooks other factors that the district court considered more important in determining the best interest of the children here. Although we will address the particular issues raised by Husband in turn, we first examine the basis for the district court's decision.

T4 The court recognized that both Husband and Wife "love the children" and "the children have good relationships with each parent." The court explained, however, that "[Jloint legal custody could not possibly work" here because there was a great deal of "animosity" between Husband and Wife, and "[nJeither parent is likely to allow the children frequent and continuing contact with the other parent, absent [clourt [o]rders."

{5 In deciding to award sole legal and physical custody to Wife, the court explained that its "ruling is based upon very serious concerns for the health and safety of the children." In particular, the court was concerned about Husband's "antipathy to scientific medical care" and his preference for *79 "homeopathic ... solutions to medical issues that don't involve prescription medication." The court used as an example that Husband "refused to allow the children to be immunized when pediatric medicine normally advises strongly that this be done, and [he] continued to refuse until he was bribed to cooperate by [Wife] ... who bought a hot tub and hair implants for him, at which point he agreed to allow immunizations." Husband even stated to the court that "if he had joint legal custody, he would be able to block immunizations" for the children. Another incident that the court found significant occurred when their daughter, then just under a year old, "developed a serious rash," which was eventually diagnosed as a "serious dry skin problem" that had developed into a staph infection. Husband "would only allow [the daughter] to be treated by a homeopathic physician, who diagnosed an allergy." Wife, however, took the daughter to a dermatologist, who diagnosed the bacterial infection and "prescribed antibiotic ointments, which cleared up the condition immediately." Based on this conduct, the court determined that Husband was inflexible, was unable to compromise, had repeatedly refused to cooperate, and had a difficult time making decisions on his own, especially in short time periods, which the court reasoned "could result in serious harm to the children if he were the custodial parent." Based on these incidents and other facts, the court concluded that because Husband "lack[ed] the ability to compromise and] make good decisions quickly," he would not "act in the children's best interests with respect to their health and safety"; rather, the court concluded "that the parent most likely to act in the best interests of the children is [Wife] with respect to medical decisions, health care decisions, and with the ability to be flexible and compromise to promote the children's best interest."

T 6 Husband argues, however, that the district court "did not give sufficient weight to ... [Wifel's criminal conviction for custodial interference." We disagree. In arriving at its decision, the court recognized the failings of both Husband and Wife in cooperating and communicating with each other and in following court orders. The court explained that "[bloth parents have demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to work well with the other or to recognize how the best interests of the children would be served if the parents could talk, cooperate or compromise." The court also explained that "neither parent has shown much respect for [cJourt [oJrders, unless they believed the [clourt [oJrder benefit-ted them." Indeed, the court held both Husband and Wife in contempt for violating court orders: Husband had refused to pay child care expenses despite a court order directing him to do so; Wife had interfered with Husband's court-ordered parent-time.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 UT App 328, 292 P.3d 76, 722 Utah Adv. Rep. 21, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 335, 2012 WL 5883150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clarke-v-clarke-utahctapp-2012.