L.J.G. v. E.B.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 16, 2023
Docket1261 MDA 2022
StatusUnpublished

This text of L.J.G. v. E.B. (L.J.G. v. E.B.) 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
L.J.G. v. E.B., (Pa. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

J-A09035-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT OP 65.37

L.J.G. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : E.B. : : Appellant : No. 1261 MDA 2022

Appeal from the Order Entered August 12, 2022, in the Court of Common Pleas of Union County, Civil Division at No(s): 17-0702.

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., OLSON, J., and KUNSELMAN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY KUNSELMAN, J.: FILED: JUNE 16, 2023

E.B. (Mother) appeals the order entered by the Union County Court of

Common Pleas, which awarded L.J.G. (Father) primary physical custody of the

parties’ five-year-old son, A.G., (the Child). Under the prior arrangement, the

Child divided a substantial amount of time between Mother’s residence in

Pennsylvania and Father’s residence in Florida. The parties filed cross-

modification petitions to establish their respective residence as the location

where the Child would begin primary school. On appeal, Mother argues inter

alia that the trial court erred when it failed to consider the relocation factors

enumerated in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h). After review, we affirm in part,

reverse in part, and remand with instructions.

The record discloses an acrimonious and litigious history, which we

abbreviate as follows. The parties are former spouses who separated in J-A09035-23

November 2017, five months after the Child’s birth. Custody litigation began

at that time; the parties were Pennsylvania residents. In February 2018, the

parties agreed to a shared custody arrangement. By the end of 2018, Mother

sought primary custody; soon thereafter, Father sought to relocate with the

Child to Florida, where he accepted a new job. In July 2019, the court denied

Father’s relocation petition, but awarded Father the ability to exercise 10 days

of custody per month in Florida, and another 5 days of custody in

Pennsylvania.

Father appealed, but the parties settled before the appeal was decided.

The February 2020 settlement effectively granted Mother primary physical

custody, but it allowed Father to exercise all his partial custody in Florida.

Specifically, Father could exercise 15 consecutive days of custody every other

month; on the off months, Father could exercise 8 days of custody.

The instant custody action began in January 2021 when Father filed a

modification petition for primary custody. In March 2021, Mother filed her

own modification petition, wherein she requested that her primary custody

time be increased. With the Child approaching school age, the parties

recognized the current arrangement was untenable, and that the Child would

have to spend significantly more time at one location so he could start school.

Although a final custody hearing was scheduled, the parties’ docket

remained highly active. Relevant to this appeal is the court’s December 3,

2021 interim order, which granted Father custody for 15 days per month

indefinitely – as opposed to the 15-day/8-day monthly rotating schedule.

-2- J-A09035-23

Thus, in effect, Father obtained an interim award of shared custody pending

the final resolution of the parties’ cross modification petitions.

The trial court ultimately held the final custody hearing on August 1 and

2, 2022. On August 5, the court indicated it would grant Father’s petition for

primary physical custody and then delineated its reasons for the award from

the bench. See N.T. (Day 3), at 1-13. Critically, the trial court only analyzed

the factors associated with 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5328(a), but not the relocation

factors listed in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h). The court issued its formal order on

August 11, 2022, docketed August 12, 2023.

Mother timely filed this appeal. She presents 11 issues for our review,

which we re-order for ease of disposition:

1. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law by failing to consider the relevant relocation factors set forth in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h) under the catchall provision of 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5328(a)(16)?

2. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in failing to analyze the relevant relocation factors set forth in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h) and in failing to issue any analysis, written or oral, of the relevant relocation factors in rendering its custody decision?

3. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law by failing to take testimony on the relocation factors set forth in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h)?

4. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law by denying Mother’s motion for compulsory non-suit?

-3- J-A09035-23

5. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in stating that the burden of proof for the non-suit was equal?

6. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in entering its December 3, 2021 interim custody order without a hearing in violation of Mother’s constitutional right to procedural due process?

7. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in issuing an order which delegates responsibility for setting the times and lengths of telephone and electronic communications to a parenting coordinator when the court declined to appoint a parenting coordinator in this matter?

8. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in conferring a presumption in favor of Father’s relocation to Florida in its analysis of [23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5328(a)(4),(11)].

9. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in its analysis of [23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5328(a)(1), (4), (8), (9), (12), (13), (15)] by disregarding evidence favorable to Mother and unfavorable to Father and affording more weight to evidence favorable to Father?

10. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in failing to consider the financial circumstances of the parties in obligating Mother to be responsible for all of the expenses related to exercising her physical custody of the Child in Florida?

11. Did the trial court abuse its discretion and commit an error of law in issuing an order which declared Florida as the home state of the Child once Florida became the Child’s primary residence?

Mother’s Brief at 5-7.

A. Consideration of the Relocation Factors

-4- J-A09035-23

In this section, we address contemporaneously Mother’s first, second,

and third appellate issues. Mother essentially asks whether the trial court

erred by failing to apply the relocation factors set forth in Section 5337(h) of

the Child Custody Act. To answer this question, we abide by the following

scope and standard of review:

The interpretation and application of a statute is a question of law that compels plenary review to determine whether the trial court committed an error of law. As with all questions of law, the appellate standard of review is de novo and the appellate scope of review is plenary.

E.C.S. v. M.C.S., 256 A.3d 449, 454 (Pa. Super. 2021) (citation omitted).

We begin by observing the relevant law governing this case. The Child

Custody Act contains two sets of factors the trial court must consider,

depending on the type of action. See 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5328(a)(1)-(16); see

also 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h). Section 5328(a) provides: “In ordering any

form of custody, the court shall determine the best interest of the child by

considering all relevant factors, giving weighted consideration to those factors

which affect the safety of the child, including [factors 1 through 16.]” Id. We

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L.J.G. v. E.B., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ljg-v-eb-pasuperct-2023.