Laurent v. Prevost

251 So. 3d 504
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 11, 2018
DocketNO. 2018-CA-0126; NO. 2018-CA-0127
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 251 So. 3d 504 (Laurent v. Prevost) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Laurent v. Prevost, 251 So. 3d 504 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

However, when the trial court commits a legal error, de novo review is required. Evans v. Lungrin , 97-0541, p. 6-7 (La. 2/6/98), 708 So.2d 731, 735. "When *508such a prejudicial error of law skews the trial court's finding of a material issue and causes it to pretermit other issues, the appellate court is required, if it can, to render judgment on the record by applying the correct law and determining the essential material facts de novo ." Id. , 97-0541, p. 7, 708 So.2d at 735 (citation omitted).

Mr. Prevost asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in finding that his actions rose to the level of abuse warranting a change in custody; that the trial court committed legal error when it granted Ms. Laurent custody of the minor children in contravention to Bergeron ; and that the trial court committed legal error when it appointed an attorney to represent the minor children in contravention of the law.

BERGERON STANDARD

Since the second assigned error concerns the burden of proof relating to the modification of a contested custody judgment, we address this assigned error first. Mr. Prevost contends that the June 2015 judgment was a considered decree and therefore could not be modified unless the heavy burden imposed in Bergeron was met. The Louisiana Supreme Court stated:

When a trial court has made a considered decree of permanent custody the party seeking a change bears a heavy burden of proving that the continuation of the present custody is so deleterious to the child as to justify a modification of the custody decree, or of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the harm likely to be caused by a change of environment is substantially outweighed by its advantages to the child.

Bergeron , 492 So.2d at 1200.

Counsel for the minor children submits that the June 2015 judgment is not subject to the heightened requirements of Bergeron because the judgment is not a considered decree. Counsel argues that the record is silent as to whether any evidence was provided relative to parental fitness and relies on a judgment drafted by Mr. Prevost's counsel and the handwritten note from the trial court thereon, which counsel claims demonstrates that the parties had a stipulated agreement. Although we find this argument meritless3 , our analysis does not extend that far because the June 2015 judgment was not a decree of permanent custody.

The June 2015 judgment is not subject to Bergeron standards because it was an interim custody plan, and Bergeron only applies to a "considered decree of permanent custody." Id. Therefore, the burden of proof in this case requires that the party seeking a change in the custody arrangement prove: "1) a change in circumstances affecting the welfare of the [child] had occurred since the original decree; and 2) the proposed modification is in the best interests of the [child]." Cerwonka v. Baker , 06-856, p. 6 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/2/06), 942 So.2d 747, 752 (quoting Aucoin v. Aucoin , 02-0756, p. 5 (La. App. 3 Cir. 12/30/02), 834 So.2d 1245 ).

MODIFICATION HEARING

At the December 2016 hearing, the trial court heard testimony from each party, numerous witnesses, and the minor children via in camera court interviews.

*509Mr. Prevost testified that he never punched, hit, or grabbed the children or threatened them with physical violence. He was asked whether he had ever caused any of the minor children to kneel on concrete for extended periods of time. He testified that the longest period of time that he ever made the children kneel was 30 minutes. Mr. Prevost explained that he made the children kneel as a form of discipline and as an alternative to spanking. He stated that he found kneeling to be more effective than spanking. Mr. Prevost testified that over the course of the two years that he had primary custody, the minor children were made to kneel about 15 times.

At the time Mr. Prevost became the de facto domiciliary parent and gained primary physical custody of the children, the evidence shows that the children were exhibiting behavioral problems at school and that the youngest child, B.P., brought marijuana to school that he retrieved from Ms. Laurent's kitchen table. Mr. Prevost produced a number of witnesses at trial, including several teachers and administrators from the minor children's school, who provided the following testimony regarding their interactions and observations of the Prevost children.

Linda Dennis, Mr. Prevost's hired nanny for the minor children, testified that she would watch the children five days a week, Saturday through Wednesday. During her employment, she testified that she never observed Mr. Prevost hit, punch, choke, or drag the children, and she never observed any bruising on the children. Ms. Dennis was also questioned about the type of discipline Mr. Prevost implemented. She stated that Mr. Prevost would always talk to the minor children, and that she had witnessed Mr. Prevost making the children kneel. She testified that "[i]f they did something that they had no business doing, then he would make them get down on their knees." Ms. Dennis testified that on one occasion, after Mr. Prevost had the minor children kneel, she told the boys they could stop after 20 minutes. At trial, she stated that she never saw Mr. Prevost spank the children and that she would rather the boys kneel as a form of discipline than for them to be spanked with a belt.

Kermit Smith, the coach at the minor children's school, testified that he taught all of the minor children during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 school years and that he never witnessed any bruising on their bodies when they attended his class in their physical education uniforms. Their physical education teacher Toby Garner also testified that he never saw bruising on the children, nor had the children expressed to him any allegations of abuse. Fourth grade teacher Stacy Clayton taught three of the four children, as did teacher Trynitha Fulton, who both testified to observing no bruising on the children. Ms. Clayton stated that the children did not express concerns about being physically abused, nor did she witness either parent being violent with them.

Jennifer Kagan, the school counselor, also testified that she did not observe any bruising on the children. She indicated that in the past two years, since the children had been in their father's care, she noticed the children's behavior and grades improved. Ms. Kagan classified Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
251 So. 3d 504, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/laurent-v-prevost-lactapp-2018.