Shelby Wright v. Mark Berger

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 21, 2020
Docket01-18-00964-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Shelby Wright v. Mark Berger (Shelby Wright v. Mark Berger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shelby Wright v. Mark Berger, (Tex. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Opinion issued April 21, 2020

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-18-00964-CV ——————————— SHELBY WRIGHT, Appellant V. MARK BERGER, Appellee

On Appeal from the 387th District Court Fort Bend County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 12-DCV-199166

MEMORANDUM OPINION

In its final decree of divorce, the trial court appointed Shelby Wright and Mark

Berger joint managing conservators of their eight-year-old son, W.B. Although W.B.

had lived with Shelby in Dallas from the age of two until the age of eight, the trial

court gave Mark the exclusive right to designate W.B.’s primary residence in Fort Bend County or a neighboring county. The court also gave Mark the exclusive right

to make decisions concerning W.B.’s education, after consultation with Shelby. On

appeal, Shelby argues that the court’s decision was not supported by legally and

factually sufficient evidence, and therefore it was an abuse of discretion.

We affirm.

Background

Shelby and Mark married in March 2010, when Shelby was pregnant with

W.B. Shelby moved to Missouri City, Texas shortly before W.B. was born in June

2010. Two years later, Shelby filed for divorce and moved to Dallas with W.B.

For the following six years, Shelby maintained W.B.’s primary residence in

Dallas, and she and Mark shared custody under temporary orders. They met midway

between their homes to exchange possession of W.B. Mark had possession of W.B.

odd weekends, spring break, and during extended periods in the summer.

The record demonstrates that both Shelby and Mark are fit parents, and the

court appointed them joint managing conservators.1 The record also demonstrates

1 According to the record, Shelby was W.B.’s primary caretaker for the first eight years of his life. She fed him, bathed him, maintained his routine, and put him to bed at night. She made a home for him when they moved to Dallas, enrolled him in daycare, and ensured he received medical care as needed and was covered by medical insurance. She took him to museums, made crafts with him, and encouraged his interest in rock collecting. She also played with him, taught him, travelled with him, and promoted his relationships with his grandparents, aunt, and uncle, who lived nearby. None of this is disputed.

2 that both Shelby and Mark contributed to the ongoing discord in their relationship.2

Shelby sometimes failed to communicate relevant information in a timely manner,

telling Mark about appointments or events, such as Taekwondo belt testing, after the

fact. Shelby sometimes prevented W.B. from accepting video chats or phone calls

or told him to end the conversation to do chores or take a bath. Shelby informed

W.B.’s school that because she was W.B.’s primary caretaker under the temporary

court orders, any communication it had with Mark had to be shared with her as well.

The record also reflects that Mark consistently paid child support and shared the cost of health insurance for W.B. as well as enrichment activities like Taekwondo and Boy Scouts. He remained actively involved in W.B.’s life, traveling to Dallas to attend school activities with W.B. or parent-teacher conferences. He called W.B. daily by phone or video chat. Mark also promoted a relationship between W.B. and Mark’s girlfriend, Jaime Parrish, whom Mark intended to marry, and Jaime’s son, who was close to W.B.’s age. Mark travelled with W.B. and engaged in building hobbies with him, like playing with Legos and building robots.

Mark worked with W.B. during his periods of possession on reading readiness before kindergarten, and later he ensured W.B. did homework on weekends and practiced reading over summer vacation. He also worked with W.B. on math fluency. Later, he looked for tools, such as colored overlays, to help W.B. read despite his dyslexia. None of these facts are disputed. 2 The record demonstrates that over the years, Shelby and Mark disagreed about parenting and questioned each other about matters such as the choice of pediatrician; whether, when, and how to treat minor medical conditions such as rashes; the presence in the home of overnight guests; travel plans during extended periods of possession; home safety issues, including safe storage of a gun, securing a backyard swimming pool, usage of a car seat or a booster seat, use of a space heater in the home; and possession or return of items that were given to W.B. before the age of two or left at one parent’s house. They also disputed Shelby’s tardiness to exchange possession of W.B., disruptions in the schedule due to inclement weather, and making up missed visitation time. The existence of these disagreements is not disputed. 3 When Shelby’s possession of W.B. was disrupted due to inclement weather, she

sought makeup time, but when Mark’s possession of W.B. was likewise disrupted,

Shelby told him that the court order did not provide for makeup time.

Mark berated Shelby when she was late to arrive at their midway meeting

point, recorded their conversations at all handoffs, and tracked W.B.’s whereabouts

using an iPad he gave him. Mark frequently criticized Shelby for lack of

communication, but sometimes Mark ignored Shelby and her parents when they all

attended events for W.B. or when exchanging possession of W.B.

At trial, Shelby testified that Mark was controlling and manipulative; but

Mark acknowledged that Shelby’s communication was sometimes sufficient, and he

expressed regret for having berated her about being late to exchange possession of

W.B.

Mark supported W.B.’s relationship with Shelby, inviting Shelby and her

parents to W.B.’s birthday parties, which were always during Mark’s period of

extended summer possession. He also invited Shelby to join them and other

members of his family to celebrate Christmas in Colorado; offered to travel to Dallas

to take W.B. to doctor’s appointments; offered to pay for a hotel to allow Shelby and

W.B. to stay near the handoff location when he believed a predicted ice storm made

travelling back to Dallas treacherous; ensured that W.B. called Shelby during Mark’s

periods of possession; and provided an itinerary to Shelby when he travelled with

4 W.B. Because Shelby is a public-school counselor, Mark chose his periods of

extended summer possession to maximize Shelby’s summer vacation time with

By contrast, Shelby made disparaging remarks about Mark to W.B. More than

four months before trial, she told W.B. that Mark wanted him to move to Missouri

City and go to another school. At one point, W.B. told Mark that moving and going

to another school would “ruin my life.” Shelby testified that it would be “just

devastating” to W.B. if he were to move to his father’s house, and she worried W.B.

would fall into a deep depression if that happened. W.B. told Mark that, when he

was with his mother, he felt that his parents did not get along, and W.B. once told

Shelby: “I wish you and daddy would just get along.” Shelby discouraged W.B.’s

growing relationship with Jaime. Shelby testified at trial that Mark called W.B. too

frequently. Shelby and her parents testified that Mark’s periods of possession were

excessive, should be curtailed, and disrupted family routines. Shelby called Mark’s

efforts to work with W.B. on reading over the summer “excessive.” Shelby testified

that W.B. regresses when he is with Mark by sucking his fingers, clinging to a

favorite blanket, and occasionally calling his father “Dada.” She also complained

that Mark “babied” W.B.

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