May v. May

107 So. 3d 1052, 2013 WL 425973, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 46
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedFebruary 5, 2013
DocketNo. 2012-CA-00402-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 107 So. 3d 1052 (May v. May) 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
May v. May, 107 So. 3d 1052, 2013 WL 425973, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 46 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROBERTS, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Victoria Sebren May appeals the Simpson County Chancery Court’s decision to award custody of her son, Eli, to his father, James Hilliard May, after she and James received an irreconcilable-differences divorce. Victoria claims the chancellor improperly applied four of the familiar factors from Albright v. Albright, 437 So.2d 1003 (Miss.1983). However, we find no merit to Victoria’s claims. Accordingly, we affirm the chancellor’s judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. James and Victoria May were married on June 15, 2002. They separated on November 3, 2009. They later divorced because of their irreconcilable differences. At the time the parties went before the chancellor, James and Victoria’s son, Eli, was seven years old. Both James and Victoria sought custody of Eli. James and his parents, Hilliard and Mary, testified that James should have primary custody of Eli. However, Victoria and her parents, Kenneth and Connie, testified that Victoria should have primary custody of Eli.

¶ 3. Ultimately, the chancellor awarded custody of Eli to James. According to the chancellor, the following factors favored awarding custody of Eli to James: the age, health, and sex of the child; employment of the parent and responsibilities of that employment; and the home, school, and community record of the child. The chancellor held that the stability of the home environment and employment of each parent favored Victoria. However, the chancellor found that the remaining factors did not favor either James or Victoria. Victoria received visitation, and the chancellor held that Victoria was to pay James $300 per month in child support. Victoria appeals the chancellor’s decision to award custody of Eli to James.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 4. In domestic-relations cases, our standard of review is limited. In re Dissolution of Marriage of Wood, 35 So.3d 507, 512 (¶ 8) (Miss.2010). The findings of the chancellor “will not be disturbed unless [they are] manifestly wrong or clearly erroneous.” Lowrey v. Lowrey, 25 So.3d 274, [1054]*1054285 (¶ 26) (Miss.2009) (citing Sanderson v. Sanderson, 824 So.2d 623, 625 (¶ 8) (Miss.2002)). “Under the standard ... utilized to review a [chancellorj’s findings of fact, particularly in the areas of divorce, alimony and child support, [the appellate court] will not overturn the [chancellor’s decision] on appeal unless [his] findings were manifestly wrong.” Wood, 35 So.3d at 512 (¶ 8) (quoting Duncan v. Duncan, 774 So.2d 418, 419 (¶ 4) (Miss.2000)).

ANALYSIS

¶ 5. Victoria claims the chancellor erred in his application of the following four factors listed in Albright: continuity of care prior to the separation; parenting skills and the willingness and capacity to provide primary child care; employment of each parent and responsibilities of that employment; and the home, school, and community record of the child. The chancellor found that the first and second factors did not favor either Victoria or James. However, the chancellor found that the third and fourth factors favored James.

¶ 6. In appeals from child-custody decisions, our polestar consideration, like the chancellor’s, must be the best interest of the child. Montgomery v. Montgomery, 20 So.3d 39, 42 (¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.2009) (citing Hensarling v. Hensarling, 824 So.2d 583, 587 (¶ 8) (Miss.2002)). We are prohibited from substituting our judgment for the chancellor’s. Id. We may only reverse a child-custody determination if the chancellor was manifestly wrong, clearly erred, or applied an erroneous legal standard. Id. When a chancellor properly applied and considered the child-custody factors from Albright, there is no manifest error. See Smith v. Smith, 614 So.2d 394, 397 (Miss.1993).

¶ 7. “Determining custody of a child is not an exact science.” Lee v. Lee, 798 So.2d 1284, 1288 (¶ 15) (Miss.2001). Instead, it “is one of the most difficult decisions that courts must make.” Brewer v. Brewer, 919 So.2d 135, 141 (¶ 21) (Miss.Ct.App.2005). In Albright, the Mississippi Supreme Court gave a list of factors to consider to help chancellors “navigat[e] what is usually a labyrinth of interests and emotions.” Lee, 798 So.2d at 1288 (¶ 15) (citing Albright, 437 So.2d at 1005). The Albñght factors provide chancellors guidance, not a mathematical formula. Id. “[E]ven when the trial judge sensitively assesses the factors noted in Albright and [its] progeny, the best the judiciary can offer is a good guess.” Love v. Love, 74 So.3d 928, 932 (¶ 17) (Miss.Ct.App.2011) (quoting Buchanan v. Buchanan, 587 So.2d 892, 897 (Miss.1991)).

¶ 8. An Albright analysis is not premised solely on a scoring system to determine which parent “wins.” Blakely v. Blakely, 88 So.3d 798, 803 (¶ 17) (Miss.Ct.App.2012) (citing Lee, 798 So.2d at 1288 (¶ 15)). “Instead, the Albright factors exist to ensure the chancellor considers all the relevant facts before she reaches a decision.” Id. And our review for manifest error is not a mechanical check on the chancellor’s score card to see if she “tallied” each parent’s score correctly. See id. Instead, we ask whether the chancellor considered all relevant facts, giving deference to the weight she assigns each factor. We turn to Victoria’s claims on appeal.

I. Continuity of Care Prior to Separation

¶ 9. Victoria’s entire argument under this heading is as follows:

[Victoria] testified that she was the one [who] took [Eli] to the doctor for every visit. [James] would sometimes go with [Victoria] and [Eli,] but [Victoria] was always the primary person for doctor[’]s visits. In fact, on cross[-]examination[,] [James] state[d] that he had taken [Eli] [1055]*1055to the doctor once. “Well, I took him to ... his pediatrician. It’d be about three or four. But Victoria mainly took him because she was able to get paid for taking off — she had time off. And me, if I missed a day, I missed a pay check. So she mainly took him.” [James], over the course of the marriage[,] had six different jobs. [Victoria] testified that she was the one who got [Eli] ready for school as [James], when not working, would sleep in. [Victoria] was the one who got [Eli’s] clothes ready[] and ironed. When [Victoria] and [Eli] did not eat at [James’s] parents’] home, [Victoria] did the cooking. [James] admitted he did not do much cooking. “I very seldom — I mean, I can do soup. I can do soup and grill stuff. That’s about all I can handle.”

Victoria did not cite any authority to support her argument that the chancellor improperly found that this factor did not favor either party. Her failure to cite relevant authority obviates our obligation to review this issue. Mann v. Mann, 904 So.2d 1183, 1185 (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.2004) (citation omitted). Simply citing the Al-bright factors provides us with no insight as to how the chancellor erred when he concluded that this factor did not favor either James or Victoria.

¶ 10. Rather than relying on authority, Victoria invites this Court to simply reweigh the chancellor’s findings of fact.

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Bluebook (online)
107 So. 3d 1052, 2013 WL 425973, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 46, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/may-v-may-missctapp-2013.