Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Family Law

Sep 23, 2019

Domestic Relations: Unauthorized Treatment Court Division-Prohibition Proceeding

Relator filed a petition for writ of prohibition seeking an order directing respondent to cease operation of a “domestic abuse court,” which was an unauthorized treatment court division created by respondent, who placed defendants in the DAC as a special condition of their probation. Where the DAC was not designated a treatment court division by […]

Sep 23, 2019

Domestic Relations: Marital Property-Fair Rental Value-Sale of Residence

Where a trial court ordered the sale of a marital residence with the proceeds to be divided between a man and his ex-wife after the deduction of the sale expenses and the outstanding mortgage debt after the initial dissolution order granting the man exclusive possession and ordering the residence to be sold was found to […]

Sep 23, 2019

Domestic Relations: Child Custody-Child Support

Where mother challenged a judgment entered on a motion to modify the decree of dissolution and the father cross-appealed, the trial court properly found sufficient evidence of a substantial change in circumstances to warrant an award of sole legal custody to the father, and the court did not err in ordering the mother to pay […]

Sep 18, 2019

Domestic Relations: Termination of Parental Rights-Collateral Attack

The trial court entered a judgment involuntarily terminating T.B.’s parental rights to her child, A.R.B. On appeal, T.B. raised multiple claims of error in the termination proceedings. Where T.B.’s claims of denial of counsel and complaints regarding the guardian ad litem’s representation of A.R.B. constituted impermissible collateral attacks, the court affirmed the termination of T.B.’s [[...]

Sep 18, 2019

Domestic Relations: Motion to Set Aside Adoption-Standing

D.R. moved to set aside E.R.S.’s adoption. In response, the adoptive parents moved to strike D.R.’s motion, asserting that he was not a party to the underlying adoption action and therefore the trial court had no authority to grant D.R. relief. The trial court agreed and granted the adoptive parents’ motion to strike. Where the […]

Sep 18, 2019

Domestic Relations: Child Custody-Emergency Protective Custody-Untimely Hearing

Plaintiff alleged that, two days after completing five days in jail, defendants petitioned the state juvenile court to maintain the protective custody they had over plaintiff’s children. Plaintiff alleged that defendants failed to afford her a hearing on the protective custody within the time mandated by state law and unlawfully seized her children due to […]

Aug 13, 2019

Domestic Relations Environmental: Poultry-Concentrated, Animal-Feeding Operation-Setback Distances-Validity of Commissioners

Plaintiffs sought judicial review of the Clean Water Commission’s approval of a permit application for a poultry-concentrated, animal-feeding operation. Plaintiffs argued that the applicant failed to show production-area setback distances or provide a copy of proposed building plans. Plaintiffs also alleged that four commissioners were unlawfully appointed to the CWC. Where CWC did not issue [&h[...]

Aug 13, 2019

Domestic Relations: Child Support-Emancipation-Deposition of Child

Where a father who argued that he was exempt from paying child support challenged a trial court’s denial of his motion to take depositions of his daughter and a detective and also challenged the court’s determination that the child was not emancipated, the child’s allegations of sexual assault against the father were not sufficient to […]

Aug 13, 2019

Domestic Relations: Divorce-Equitable Distribution

The parties cross-appealed from the trial court’s equitable distribution judgment, which classified certain stock and cash as marital property, and LLC ownership interests as husband’s separate property. Where there was insufficient evidence to determine whether stock was issued as a stock dividend or as part of a stock split, the trial court erred in classifying […]

Jul 29, 2019

Domestic Relations: Property Division-Child Custody-Maintenance

Where a wife involved in a dissolution challenged the division of marital property,  the child-custody decision and the denial of her request for maintenance, the wife could not challenge the division of property because she stated that she had no objection to the division proposed by the husband, so under the invited-error principle she could […]

Jul 29, 2019

Domestic Relations: Parental Rights-Termination-Appointment of Counsel

Where a mother, who requested counsel and was indigent, sought to prohibit the trial court from proceeding with an underlying termination of parental rights until counsel was appointed to represent her, the preliminary order in prohibition is made permanent because the trial court acted without authority in discharging her first appointed counsel and in attempting […]

Jul 22, 2019

Domestic Relations: Child Custody-Tribal Court Jurisdiction-Non-Native American Parent

Plaintiffs filed suit against the Department of Human Services, the local county and two tribal courts, contesting the tribal court’s jurisdiction over plaintiff Kimberly Watso’s child-custody proceedings for her children. Although Watso was not Native American, her children were through their fathers. The district court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint. Where the Indian Child Welfare Act ves[...]

Latest Opinion Digests

See all digests

Top stories

See more news