McDONALD, J.
We note at the outset that this is a difficult case. This case is the subject of an earlier appeal, T.D. v. F.X.A., 2012 CA 1590 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/22/2014), which has not been handed down.
T.D. tried to file a suspensive appeal from that judgment, but the district court
While that appeal was still pending, on May 23, 2012, F.X.A. filed a rule to change custody, and for contempt, attorney fees, and costs. He asserted that T.D. failed to encourage V.D. to attend the school and instituted and participated in an internet campaign to prevent V.D. from attending the school. In particular, he maintained that T.D. had communicated with and solicited members of a Facebook group known as "I Survived Diamond Ranch Academy," whose members made derogatory comments regarding the school and the district court, including attaching an internet link to the www.amackerforjudge.com website, as well as a copy of an email from the judge's administrative assistant to the judge; that T.D. communicated with and solicited members to an internet website, www.troubledprograms.com, in an effort to obtain signatures for a petition titled "Save [V.D.] From Diamond Ranch Academy"; that T.D. exhibited hostile and derogatory behavior while visiting Diamond Ranch Academy with V.D., which, as a result of her behavior, along with the internet posts, caused the Admissions Director, Daniel Borehardt, to advise by correspondence dated May 17, 2012, that the school had "great apprehension at the prospect of enrolling [V.D.] at Diamond Ranch Academy"; and further, that T.D. refused to sign the school's admissions agreement, which included a liability waiver form, despite F.X.A.'s numerous requests. F.X.A. asked that as a result of T.D.'s failure to encourage V.D. to attend the school and her failure to sign the admissions agreement, both of which, he asserted, the district court had ordered her to do, he be awarded sole custody of V.D., or in the alternative, that the district court maintain joint custody and designate him as the domiciliary parent. He further asked that T.D. be held in contempt of court for her repeated violations of the January 25, 2012 judgment, be fined and incarcerated, and be ordered to pay attorney fees and costs.
On October 8, 2012, T.D. filed a peremptory exception raising the objection of no cause of action, asserting that F.X.A. sought to change the status of custody from joint to sole custody for himself, or at least change custody to have himself designated as the domiciliary parent, but that the district court's February 13, 2012 judgment had not changed the status of custody, and thus, F.X.A. had to meet the heavy burden of the Bergeron
The district court heard the matter on October 10, 2012. After the hearing, the district court denied T.D.'s peremptory
T.D. is appealing that judgment. She makes the following assignments of error.
In this assignment of error, T.D. maintains that the district court abused its discretion and committed manifest error by denying her exception of no cause of action, where she had asserted that the Bergeron standard applied to any decision to modify custody because of the considered decree that had issued from the January 25, 2012 trial where joint custody and her domiciliary status were continued. T.D. asserts that no evidence was presented in the October 10, 2012 trial, or recited by the district court, that would have established by the requisite clear and convincing standard that the change in custody was warranted under the Bergeron standard for considered decrees.
The paramount consideration in any determination of child custody is the best interest of the child. La. C.C. art. 131. However, in actions to change custody decisions rendered in considered decrees, an additional jurisprudential requirement is imposed. Hensgens v. Hensgens, 94-1200 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/15/95), 653 So.2d 48, 52, writ denied, 95-1488 (La.9/22/95), 660 So.2d 478. A considered decree is an award of permanent custody in which the trial court receives evidence of parental fitness to exercise care, custody, and control of children. Hensgens, 653 So.2d at 52. When a trial court has made a considered decree of permanent custody, the party seeking a change bears a heavy burden of proving that the continuation of the present custody is "so deleterious to the child as to justify a modification of the custody decree," or of proving "by clear and convincing evidence that the harm likely to be caused by the change of environment is substantially outweighed by its advantages to the child." Evans v. Lungrin, 708 So.2d 731, 738 (La.1998); Bergeron, 492 So.2d at 1200.
Every child custody case must be considered within its peculiar set of facts. A trial court's determination of custody is entitled to great weight and will be overturned on appeal only when there is a clear abuse of discretion. Voelkel v. Voelkel, 97-2546 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/15/98), 712 So.2d 633, 635; Scott v. Scott, 95-0816 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/15/95), 665 So.2d 760, 763, writ denied, 96-0181 (La.2/2/96), 666 So.2d 1106.
T.D. asserts that the decree that issued from the January 25, 2012 trial, wherein joint custody and T.D.'s domiciliary status were continued, was a considered decree. After that hearing, the district court ruled that F.X.A. met the burden of rebutting the presumption that all major decisions
We must determine whether the January 25, 2012 trial was one in which the district court received evidence of parental fitness to exercise care, custody, and control of children. It was F.X.A.'s June 3, 2011 filing of a rule to modify custody that led to the January 25, 2012 hearing. In his rule, F.X.A. asserted that a change in circumstances had occurred since the previous judgment sufficient to warrant a modification in the current custodial arrangement. F.X.A. asserted that V.D. had been expelled from school for drug-related issues and was attending an alternative school, from which she had been suspended twice; that she had problems prior to the school expulsion that resulted in intervention by the Juvenile Court; that there was a lack of proper supervision and discipline by T.D. over V.D.; that T.D. continued to engage in a pattern of parental alienation and continued to refuse to pay her court-ordered portion of the mental health professional's services to a reconciliation therapist appointed by the court to help F.X.A. and V.D. address this issue; and that V.D. had serious emotional issues and needed consistency, routine, and structure, which could not be provided by T.D.
At the hearing on January 25, 2012, the following took place at the start of trial:
At this hearing, the court heard testimony from six witnesses: (1) Rhea Marrs, the principal at Tangipahoa Alternative School, which V.D. was attending at that time; (2) Darlene Palliser, the assistant principal at Mandeville Junior High School, which V.D. had previously attended; (3) Teri Groves, a licensed clinical social worker who had been appointed by the court as a reconciliation therapist in the case; (4) Brian Osborn, a licensed clinical social worker who began working with V.D. in 2008; (5) F.X.A.; and (6) T.D.
V.D.'s medical records from Mercy Family Center, where she was treated by Dr. William Colomb, Jr., a psychiatrist, were entered into evidence, along with V.D.'s student demographic information from Tangipahoa Alternative Programs and an information brochure and DVD from Diamond Ranch Academy.
After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that at the January 25, 2012 hearing, the district court received evidence of parental fitness to exercise care, custody, and control of V.D. In particular, F.X.A. sought to prove that T.D. was not exercising sufficient and appropriate supervision and control over V.D., such that V.D. should be removed from the alternative school that she was attending and sent
The district court noted, during the hearing, that the hearing was about school choice, rather than custody;
In this assignment of error, T.D. asserts that the district court abused its discretion and committed manifest error by finding her in contempt of court on four counts and sentencing her to seven (7) days of actual jail time (30 days on each count to run concurrently, with all but 7 suspended), plus a $100 fine on each count ($400 total) due to T.D. purportedly failing to encourage the child to attend the Diamond Ranch Academy, where the district court concluded that T.D. had instigated and directed an online group that opposes the Diamond Ranch Academy to post derogatory comments about the school, the trial court, and F.X.A.; T.D. had solicited signatures on a petition called "Save [V.D.] From Diamond Ranch Academy" to prevent the child from attending the Utah boarding school; T.D. exhibited hostile and derogatory behavior while visiting the school with the minor child; and T.D.'s failure to sign the admissions agreement that included a liability waiver form for Diamond Ranch Academy, which constituted additional evidence of her failure to encourage the child to attend the school.
The Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure defines contempt of court as "any act or omission tending to obstruct or interfere with the orderly administration of justice, or to impair the dignity of the court or respect for its authority." La. C.C.P. art. 221. A contempt of court proceeding is either criminal or civil, which is determined by what the court primarily seeks to accomplish by imposing sentence. In a criminal contempt proceeding, the court seeks to punish a person for disobeying a court order, whereas in a civil contempt proceeding, the court seeks to force a person into compliance with a court order. Billiot v. Billiot, 2001-1298 (La.1/25/02), 805 So.2d 1170, 1173.
Criminal contempt is a crime, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects a defendant in a criminal proceeding against conviction of a crime except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the contempt charge. On appellate review of criminal contempt, the reviewing court must determine that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude that every element of the contempt charge was proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 1174.
As T.D. was found guilty of criminal contempt, this court must determine that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude that every element of the contempt charge was proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
A review of the record shows that T.D. testified that she did encourage V.D. to go to the school. Essentially, T.D. testified that she did not want V.D. to go to the school, but she denied discouraging V.D. T.D. further stated that she visited the school with V.D., went sightseeing in the area with her, and basically told her that it was a done deal. She said that she would visit her during the year and they would go shopping in Salt Lake City. T.D.'s long-time family friend, Allison Cooper, testified that she and T.D. had dinner together with V.D. before she was scheduled to leave for school and that both of them encouraged V.D. to go to the school and make the best of it.
T.D. clearly did not agree with the district court's decision and took steps to have it overturned, i.e., applying for a writ and an appeal from the district court judgment. However, the court could not force T.D. to agree with its decision or to give up her right to legally challenge that decision. While T.D. did contact Nancy Turbyfill,
Further, we note again that the motion for contempt was filed by F.X.A. on May 23, 2012. Any actions taken by T.D. after that date could not serve as the basis for a finding of criminal contempt by T.D., as T.D. was given no notice of a hearing for contempt for any actions taken after May 23, 2012. The district court, in oral reasons for judgment, noted that after the filing of the motion for contempt, T.D. arranged for a radio interview and brought V.D. to the interview, at which other parties made vile commentary about the school, the child's father, the proceedings in Louisiana, and the court. When F.X.A.'s attorney asked T.D. about this incident, T.D.'s attorney objected. The district court judge sustained the objection in part, stating that the actions could not be used to prove the contempt allegations, but she could consider them in connection
After a thorough review, we find the evidence was not sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude that every element of the charge of criminal contempt for instigating and directing an online group that opposed the Diamond Ranch Academy to post derogatory comments about the school, the district court, and F.X.A., and the charge of criminal contempt for soliciting signatures on a petition called "Save [V.D.] From Diamond Ranch Academy" were proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, both of these counts of criminal contempt are reversed.
As to the criminal contempt count for T.D. exhibiting hostile and derogatory behavior while visiting the school with V.D., there was no evidence in the record of this behavior. While a letter to F.X.A. from Diamond Ranch Academy referencing T.D.'s behavior while visiting the school with V.D. was mentioned at the trial, this letter was not entered into evidence. According to T.D.'s testimony at trial, she called ahead to schedule appointments with school personnel and met with four staffers and several students while she and V.D. were visiting the school. T.D. testified that she and V.D. were well dressed and had made the decision to be on their best behavior while visiting the school.
Thus, as there was not sufficient evidence for a rational trier of fact to conclude that every element of this criminal charge of contempt was proved beyond a reasonable doubt, this finding of criminal contempt is reversed.
The last count of criminal contempt found by the district court was based upon T.D.'s failure to sign the admissions agreement that included a liability waiver form for Diamond Ranch Academy, which the district court determined constituted additional evidence of her failure to encourage V.D. to attend Diamond Ranch Academy.
We note that the judgment did not require T.D. to sign the liability waiver form. T.D. testified at trial that she refused to sign the admissions agreement because if her daughter was injured in a car accident and the other person did not have insurance, or if she fell off a horse, or if she fell off a cliff, there would be no recourse. T.D. testified that she probably would have signed the contract if she could have done so without also signing the release of liability, although she questioned other aspects of the contract, such as strip searches allowed at any time and the use of restraints. We find that T.D.'s failure to sign the admissions agreement, due to her concerns about liability, was not "further evidence" of her failure to encourage V.D. to attend the school, but rather, was based upon parental concern. We find the evidence was not sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude that every element of this criminal charge of contempt was proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, this finding of criminal contempt is reversed.
In this assignment of error, T.D. asserts that the district court abused its discretion and committed manifest error by awarding sole custody to F.X.A. and not allowing any visitation or contact between V.D. and T.D. or T.D.'s family from the moment of the ruling until further orders from the trial court. T.D. asserts that this ruling was harsh and not in V.D.'s best interest.
As we have found that the district court made a considered decree of permanent custody in the February 13, 2012 judgment,
T.D. and F.X.A. had a difficult relationship as parents, and F.X.A. was not a part of V.D.'s life for at least the first five years of her life. V.D. had lived with T.D. for her entire life. The most time V.D. ever spent with F.X.A. was weekend visits. V.D. had attended some reconciliation therapy with F.X.A. in 1996, but the therapy was ultimately discontinued. F.X.A. contended that T.D. continually undermined his relationship with V.D. It also appears from the record that F.X.A. discontinued the reconciliation therapy and contended that it did not fit into his work schedule. F.X.A. did not attend any of the disciplinary school conferences at Ponchatoula High School or the alternative school, nor did he attend the juvenile court hearings or group meetings pertaining to drug use, and he met with V.D.'s therapist, Brian Osborn, only once. He testified that V.D. did not want to see him.
While F.X.A. contended at trial that T.D. did not adequately supervise or discipline V.D., he had not seen V.D. for almost two years at the time of the October transfer of physical custody. The extent of their estrangement was so great that F.X.A. did not tell V.D. when he and his wife had a baby (V.D.'s half-sister), and he testified that V.D. did not know about her half-sister's existence until the child was a year old.
T.D. contended at trial that V.D.'s behavior had improved and that she was doing better in school.
We find that F.X.A. did not meet the heavy burden of proving that the continuation of domiciliary custody with T.D. was so deleterious to V.D. as to justify a modification of the custody decree or of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the harm likely to be caused by the change of environment was substantially outweighed by its advantages to V.D.
We find that the record shows that the district court's decision to immediately transfer custody of V.D. to F.X.A., the father from whom she was estranged, and immediately prohibit any contact between V.D. and T.D. or T.D.'s family, without letting her mother even tell her good-bye, was an abuse of discretion that was not in the best interest of V.D. Thus, we reverse this ruling by the district court.
For the foregoing reasons, that portion of the district court's October 30, 2012 judgment finding T.D. in contempt of court on four counts is reversed, and that portion of the judgment awarding sole custody to F.X.A. and not allowing any visitation or contact between V.D. and T.D. or T.D.'s family until further orders from the district court is reversed. Costs of this appeal are assessed against F.X.A.
PETTIGREW, J. concurs.
McCLENDON, J. concurs and agrees with the result in the case.