Morgan v. West

812 So. 2d 987, 2002 WL 503000
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedApril 4, 2002
Docket2000-CA-00966-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 812 So. 2d 987 (Morgan v. West) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morgan v. West, 812 So. 2d 987, 2002 WL 503000 (Mich. 2002).

Opinion

812 So.2d 987 (2002)

Steven Derek MORGAN and Rachelle Majure Morgan
v.
Jackie WEST.

No. 2000-CA-00966-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

April 4, 2002.

*989 Marcie T. Southerland, Vicksburg, attorney for appellants.

William R. Striebeck, Greenville, attorney for appellee.

Before PITTMAN, C.J., WALLER and CARLSON, JJ.

PITTMAN, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Steven Derek Morgan ("Derek") and Rachelle Majure Morgan ("Rachelle") are the natural parents of Zachary Derek Morgan ("Zack"), a minor child born April 21, 1997. On October 8, 1998, a final decree of divorce was entered into the Chancery Court of Washington County, whereby Derek and Rachelle were granted a divorce. In accordance with the final decree, Derek and Rachelle were given joint legal custody of Zack, with Rachelle being granted primary physical custody. Derek, in turn, was awarded reasonable visitation rights.

¶ 2. Jackie West ("West"), mother of Derek and grandmother of Zack, filed a Petition to Establish Grandparents' Visitation Rights pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 93-16-1 et seq. On November 18, 1999. Derek and Rachelle did not file a response to the petition. After a hearing on May 2, 2000, in the Washington County Chancery Court, an order was entered May 9, 2000, establishing visitation for West, and ordering Derek and Rachelle to take Zack to *990 West's home in Greenville every sixth weekend, as well as providing for summer visitation.

¶ 3. On May 15, 2000, Derek and Rachelle filed a Motion for Rehearing and Other Relief based on the following grounds:

1. The ruling and Order are not supported by substantial evidence.
2. The ruling constitutes a manifest error of law in that the grandparents visitation statute does not contemplate visitation in the circumstances presented to the court.
3. The chancellor abused her discretion by not allowing Derek and Rachelle an opportunity to fully present their case prior to the chancellor's ruling.

¶ 4. West's first weekend of visitation was scheduled for May 5, 2000, but this visit did not occur, resulting in a Motion for Contempt being filed against Derek by West. West's weekend visitation set for June 9, 2000, also did not take place.

¶ 5. On June 14, 2000, the trial court heard the Motion for Rehearing and Other Relief and the Motion for Contempt in which Derek, Rachelle and West each provided testimony. Derek testified that he did not comply with the chancellor's order for visitation for West because he believed that he and Rachelle had not been allowed to fully present their arguments before the chancellor ruled. The chancellor ruled that the prior order would stay intact and found Derek in contempt, sentencing him to two weekends in the Washington County Jail, one of which included Father's Day. In a separate order dated June 29, 2000, West was also awarded attorney's fees for the contempt matter and two additional weekends of visitation to make up for the ones that were missed due to Derek's contempt.

¶ 6. Feeling aggrieved by the chancellor's decision, Derek and Rachelle timely perfected this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. This Court reviews a chancellor's findings of fact in the following manner:

This Court will always review a chancellor's findings of fact, but the Court will not disturb the factual findings of a chancellor when supported by substantial evidence unless the Court can say with reasonable certainty that the chancellor abused his discretion, was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or applied an erroneous legal standard.

Cummings v. Benderman, 681 So.2d 97, 100 (Miss.1996).

¶ 8. In matters that are questions of law, this Court employs a de novo standard of review and will only reverse for an erroneous interpretation or application of the law. Bank of Mississippi v. Hollingsworth, 609 So.2d 422, 424 (Miss.1992); Harrison County v. City of Gulfport, 557 So.2d 780, 784 (Miss.1990).

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES
I. WAS THERE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THE CHANCELLOR TO GRANT GRANDPARENT VISITATION?
II. WAS WEST UNREASONABLY DENIED VISITATION? WAS THE AMOUNT OF VISITATION AWARDED TO WEST IN THE CHANCELLOR'S ORDER EXCESSIVE?
III. WAS THE CHANCELLOR'S RULING CORRECT, SUPPORTED BY CREDIBLE EVIDENCE AND AN APPLICATION OF THE PROPER LEGAL STANDARD?

*991 ¶ 9. This Court will consider the merits of these issues as follows:

I. WAS THERE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THE CHANCELLOR TO GRANT GRANDPARENT VISITATION?
II. DID THE CHANCELLOR SHOW A PREDISPOSITION TOWARD WEST?
III. DID THE CHANCELLOR ERR BY NOT AWARDING ATTORNEY'S FEES TO DEREK AND RACHELLE?

DISCUSSION

I. WAS THERE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THE CHANCELLOR TO GRANT GRANDPARENT VISITATION?

¶ 10. This Court, in Martin v. Coop, 693 So.2d 912 (Miss.1997), outlined ten factors that are to be considered by a chancellor in making a determination regarding grandparent visitation:

In determining the amount of visitation that grandparents should be granted in this situation, some guidelines by this Court may be helpful. As always, the best interest of the child must be the polestar consideration. The visitation should be less than that which would be awarded to a non-custodial parent, unless the circumstances overwhelming dictate that that amount of visitation is in the best interest of the child, and it would be harmful to the child not to grant it. The following factors should be considered by the chancery court in determining grandparent visitation, and no one should be weighed more heavily than the others.
1. The amount of disruption that extensive visitation will have on the child's life. This includes disruption of school activities, summer activities, as well as any disruption that might take place between the natural parent and the child as a result of the child being away from home for extensive lengths of time.
2. The suitability of the grandparents' home with respect to the amount of supervision received by the child.
3. The age of the child.
4. The age, and physical and mental health of the grandparents.
5. The emotional ties between the grandparents and the grandchild.
6. The moral fitness of the grandparents.
7. The distance of the grandparents' home from the child's home.
8. Any undermining of the parent's general discipline of the child.
9. Employment of the grandparents and the responsibilities associated with that employment.
10. The willingness of the grandparents to accept that the rearing of the child is the responsibility of the parent, and that the parent's manner of child rearing is not to be interfered with by the grandparents.
As stated before, none of these factors should receive more weight in the chancellor's analysis than any other. These factors are further not all-inclusive. The chancellor should weigh all circumstances and factors he feels to be appropriate.

Id. at 916.

¶ 11. Derek and Rachelle contend that the chancellor did not properly consider the Martin

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Bluebook (online)
812 So. 2d 987, 2002 WL 503000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgan-v-west-miss-2002.