Jones case is an unpublished case from the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The case demonstrates the deference that appellate courts will often show to the trial court’s determination in custody proceedings.
In a somewhat unusual situation, the custody litigation was between the Father and the paternal great-grandmother. As a background to the current litigation, “[o]n 5 March 2009, Father filed a complaint for divorce from bed and board, child custody, and child support. On 19 March 2009, Father and Mother entered into a consent order which granted Father primary custody of Josh and visitation to Mother. On 2 September 2011, Josh’s paternal great-grandmother (“Grandmother“) moved to intervene in the case based upon her allegations that Father had essentially ceded care of Josh to her.” Eventually, “Grandmother was granted temporary custody of Josh, and on 2 August 2012, the trial court entered a custody order finding that Father ‘was often gone or had no contact with the minor child for days and up to periods in excess of a week; that said pattern continued for years[;]’ failed ‘to attend . . . [Josh’s] graduation exercise despite an invitation[;]’ ‘works forty or more hours a week and is on call seven days a week[;]’ and Father had acknowledged that Grandmother kept Josh most nights of the week, enrolled Josh in school and extracurricular activities, and took him to his medical appointments.” Thus, the trial court granted Grandmother primary custody of Josh.
“On 30 November 2016, Father moved to modify the custody arrangement of Josh alleging a substantial change of circumstances because Grandmother’s health was declining, she had interfered with Josh’s relationship with both parents and their time with Josh, he had become more involved in Josh’s life, and he had remarried to a woman who had a close relationship with Josh.” Trial court after a full hearing on the matter granted the father’s petition and gave him primary custody.
Grandmother first challenged that trial court’s factual findings that there was a material change with respect to Grandmother’s health, that the father made positive changes to his life, and that there were instances of negative interactions between Grandmother and Josh’s parents. Court of Appeals noted that trial court is “the sole judge of the credibility and weight of the evidence and may accept or reject any of the evidence.” The Court of Appeals also held that there was sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s factual findings. In light of such factual findings, the Court of Appeals held that it was not abuse of discretion for the trial court to rule that best interest of the child would be served by change in custody and affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Jones case highlights that appellate courts will give great deference to the trial court’s findings and judgment in custody cases, notes Ms. Reed.
The case is Jones v. Jones, No. COA18-991.
About Janet Pittman Reed
Janet P. Reed is an attorney in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and handles Family Law cases such as Divorce & Separation, Personal Injury, Traffic, Criminal Law, Driver’s License Restoration Services, and Civil Litigation cases.
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