Ry Luke Malloy, V. Cynthia Jackson

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedSeptember 27, 2022
Docket55867-0
StatusUnpublished

This text of Ry Luke Malloy, V. Cynthia Jackson (Ry Luke Malloy, V. Cynthia Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ry Luke Malloy, V. Cynthia Jackson, (Wash. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

September 27, 2022 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II In the Matter of the Parentage of MLM, No. 55867-0-II

A minor child,

RY LUKE MALLOY,

Respondent, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

v.

CYNTHIA JACKSON,

Appellant.

GLASGOW, C.J.—Cynthia Jackson and Ry Luke Malloy dated briefly. Their son MLM was

born in January 2018. After learning that he was MLM’s father, Malloy pursued a parenting plan.

Throughout the proceedings, Jackson resisted Malloy’s attempts to visit MLM and contacted law

enforcement and child welfare agencies multiple times to allege that Malloy was abusing MLM.

After a bench trial, the superior court granted Malloy sole custody of MLM, limited Jackson’s

parenting time under RCW 26.09.191, ordered her to pay child support, and issued a restraining

order protecting Malloy and MLM. The superior court provided that Jackson could obtain a

modification increasing her visitation with MLM after a mental health evaluation and parenting

class.

Jackson moved to modify the parenting plan even though she had not met the superior

court’s requirements. A court commissioner found no adequate cause to modify the parenting plan.

Jackson moved to revise the order denying adequate cause. A superior court judge denied the No. 55867-0-II

motion to revise. Jackson then moved to vacate the parenting plan, child support order, and

restraining order. In response, Malloy moved to restrict Jackson’s abusive use of litigation and to

renew the restraining order. The superior court found Jackson was engaging in abusive litigation,

granted the renewed restraining order, and awarded Malloy attorney fees, but declined to restrict

Jackson’s ability to file further motions at that time.

Jackson appeals the order denying the motion to vacate, the order on the motion to restrict

abusive litigation, the order denying the motion for revision, and the renewed restraining order.

Her brief challenges other rulings that she failed to properly appeal. Malloy seeks attorney fees on

appeal.

We affirm, and we grant Malloy attorney fees on appeal in an amount to be determined by

a commissioner of this court.

FACTS

I. INITIAL PROCEEDINGS

Jackson began dating Malloy in 2016 and moved in with him in April 2017. The

relationship ended in May 2017 in part because of Jackson’s volatile behavior. Jackson told Malloy

that she was pregnant shortly before the relationship ended. Malloy and Jackson had no contact

for over a year until Jackson texted Malloy informing him that he had a son, who had been born

in January 2018. Malloy, who was living in Oregon, began parentage proceedings. In February

2019, the Oregon Child Support Program entered an order establishing Malloy’s parentage of

MLM.

Malloy had a few visits with MLM and then pursued a parenting plan. Over Jackson’s

objection, Malloy asked the commissioner to either order Jackson to undergo a mental health

2 No. 55867-0-II

evaluation or appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate Jackson’s “erratic behavior” and determine

if further evaluations were necessary. Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (July 15, 2019) at

8. The commissioner declined to appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate Jackson. The

commissioner allowed Malloy to have daytime visitation with MLM two days per week but

required him to take a parenting class and obtain a domestic violence assessment with Jackson as

a collateral contact before expanding his residential time.

Malloy completed the class and assessment, which did not recommend any additional

treatment. The commissioner then granted Malloy one overnight visit and at least one video call

with MLM per week.

Jackson hired at least four attorneys throughout the proceedings. Jackson’s third attorney

withdrew in February 2020, and another attorney entered a limited appearance in August 2020 for

mediation, withdrawing that same month. Jackson was otherwise not represented after February

2020.

Early in September 2020, while the parties exchanged MLM at a police station, Jackson

yelled at Malloy, shoved and threatened to shoot Malloy’s mother, and came close to hitting

Malloy with her car when leaving. Malloy’s mother recorded the incident, and Jackson later

threatened the responding police officer. The next week, Malloy requested a restraining order

against Jackson and asked that MLM remain in his custody until the bench trial to set the final

parenting plan. At a hearing, Malloy informed the commissioner that Jackson had contacted Child

Protective Services to allege that Malloy was abusing MLM: “Those matters were not referred for

investigation and that matter . . . is closed.” VRP (Sept. 15, 2020) at 60. Malloy also informed the

3 No. 55867-0-II

commissioner that, although Jackson claimed that MLM had been prescribed respiratory

medication and enrolled in day care, neither of those things was true.

The commissioner instructed the parties to conduct their exchanges at a specific restaurant

and to not record or videotape the exchanges, which both sides had done in the past. And the

commissioner ordered the parties to not disturb each other or go to each other’s homes or

workplaces.

During the bench trial, Malloy and other witnesses testified about Jackson’s history of

erratic behavior. Jackson offered as an exhibit a photograph of Malloy sitting in his kitchen at

11:00 p.m. in April 2020. Jackson testified that she was “around the neighborhood,” going “to the

store” when she took the photo. VRP (Oct. 12, 2020) at 190. Malloy testified that Jackson had

failed to inform Malloy about MLM’s health care or doctors, despite court orders to share that

information with Malloy. When Jackson testified, she refused to answer questions posed by

Malloy’s counsel. In addition to other evidence of Jackson’s behavior, the superior court also

considered that Jackson’s mother had previously requested several restraining orders against her.

The superior court entered a parenting plan that gave Malloy primary custody and limited

Jackson’s parenting time with MLM under RCW 26.09.191 because the court was concerned about

Jackson’s volatile behavior and mental health issues. The superior court found that Jackson had

emotional problems that interfered with her parenting, engaged in abusive use of conflict, withheld

MLM, and failed to abide by court orders, meriting RCW 26.09.191 limitations. The superior court

placed sole custody of MLM with Malloy. The superior court found that Jackson was not credible

and “that there is nothing from any other professional that supports her position or her allegations”

that Malloy had harmed MLM. VRP (Oct. 13, 2020) at 81. The superior court instructed Malloy

4 No. 55867-0-II

to enroll MLM in a day care or preschool environment with mandatory reporters, “to protect

[MLM], and, to a certain extent to protect Mr. Malloy.” Id. at 83.

The superior court allowed Jackson to have only professionally supervised visitation with

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