Navarro v. Yonkers

• Decision Date: 05 December 2007
• Docket Number: No. 34118.,34118.
• Citation: 173 P.3d 1141,144 Idaho 882
• Parties: Andrew NAVARRO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Laura YONKERS, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

173 P.3d 1141

144 Idaho 882

Andrew NAVARRO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Laura YONKERS, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 34118.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, October 2007 Term.

December 5, 2007.

Kevin J. Waite, Coeur d'Alene, for appellant.

Peter J. Hutchinson, St. Maries, for respondent.

W. JONES, Justice.

Appellant, Andrew Navarro (Navarro), directly appeals the decision of the Magistrate Judge granting legal and physical custody of the parties' minor child, Jessica Morgan Navarro-Yonkers (Jessica), to Respondent, Laura Yonkers (Yonkers).

Navarro and Yonkers met in September 2001 and began residing together at the end of 2001. They moved from Carson City, Nevada to St. Maries, Idaho near the end of 2001. Navarro and Yonkers never married. Jessica was born November 25, 2002. There is conflicting testimony whether a pregnancy and miscarriage occurred prior to Jessica's birth due to alcohol abuse by Yonkers.

Yonkers has four children including Jessica. Two of her children, Brandon and Justin, are subject to a 1999 guardianship order, granting custody to Yonkers' parents, Katherine and Doug Yonkers. A third child, Rachel, resides with Yonkers and Jessica. Navarro has two children including Jessica. Navarro's other child is the result of his first marriage. Navarro's other child resides with his wife in Oklahoma. Navarro and his wife have been separated for awhile, but have never formally divorced.

Both parties were arrested in November of 2003 for methamphetamine use. There is conflicting testimony by both parties regarding the nature and extent of the other's drug use. Alcohol is Yonkers' drug of choice and methamphetamine is Navarro's. Jessica and Rachel were placed in temporary custody of the Department of Health and Welfare. Navarro and Yonkers entered the drug court program following the arrest. Yonkers was involuntarily removed from the program in August 2004 when she moved from Idaho to Nevada without permission. Navarro was removed a week later when Carlis Hanlan (an acquaintance of Yonkers) informed police of methamphetamine production equipment on the Navarro-Yonkers premises.

Yonkers permanently took Jessica to Nevada in August 2004. Yonkers failed to inform Navarro of the move or the intent to move Jessica to Nevada. In Nevada, Yonkers filed a temporary restraining order against Navarro for alleged physical abuse. Navarro, in his brief, states that the evidence used in the restraining order was "weak," but does not allege that it was false. Navarro filed a custody petition in Idaho the day after Yonkers and Jessica left. In January 2005, Navarro moved to Hawaii.

The parties stipulated to an interim custody order in December 2004. A temporary custody order was issued on July 12, 2005 following a hearing awarding legal and physical custody of Jessica to Yonkers. Navarro was awarded joint custody for 14 days of each month, the exchange to occur at the Reno-Tahoe airport, with Navarro paying transportation costs to Hawaii. The final child custody decree, and subject of this appeal, was entered March 31, 2006.

The following issues are presented to this court on appeal:

1. Whether Yonkers is estopped from asserting her fitness as a parent when a Nevada guardianship order affects Yonkers' rights regarding two other minor children

a. Whether the court erred in refusing to admit into evidence a certified copy of the Nevada guardianship order as Plaintiff's [Navarro's] exhibit 2.

2. Whether the court erred in denying Navarro's motion for a psychological evaluation of the parties.

3. Whether the court erred in refusing to admit into evidence a tape of Yonkers' testimony from a previous hearing.

4. Whether the court erred by treating Yonkers' unilateral move from Idaho to Nevada as a factor in the physical custody award rather than a determinative condition

a. Whether the court's treatment of Yonkers' move to Nevada was against prior precedent as stated in Hopper v. Hopper, 144 Idaho 624, 167 P.3d 761 (2007).

5. Whether there is sufficient evidence to support the court's award of primary physical custody to Yonkers.

The Magistrate court's findings of fact will be upheld if supported by substantial and competent evidence. Leavitt v. Leavitt, 142 Idaho 664, 668, 132 P.3d 421, 425 (2006) citing Roe Family Services v. Doe, 139 Idaho 930, 934, 88 P.3d 749, 753 (2004). "With regard to child custody determinations, these are committed to the sound discretion of the magistrate court and will not be overturned on appeal unless such discretion is abused." Biggers v. Biggers, 103 Idaho 550, 555, 650 P.2d 692, 697 (1982). The trial court's decision will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion. Roberts v. Roberts, 138 Idaho 401, 403, 64 P.3d 327, 329 (2003). An abuse of discretion does not exist if the trial court (1) recognizes the issue as one of discretion, (2) acts within the limits of discretion and consistently with the legal standards that apply, and (3) reaches the conclusion through an exercise of reason. Roberts, 138 Idaho at 403, 64 P.3d at 329 citing Sun Valley Shopping Ctr. v. Idaho Power Co., 119 Idaho 87, 94, 803 P.2d 993, 1000 (1991). This Court will freely review a lower court's conclusions of law. Leavitt, 142 Idaho at 668, 132 P.3d at 425 citing Roe Family Services, 139 Idaho at 934, 88 P.3d at 753.

Yonkers is not estopped from arguing her fitness as a parent regardless of a Nevada guardianship order affecting her rights in two other minor children.

Res judicata and collateral estoppel are questions of law, which this Court will freely review. Lohman v. Flynn, 139 Idaho 312, 320, 78 P.3d 379, 387 (2003). "Res judicata is comprised of claim preclusion (true res judicata) and issue preclusion (collateral estoppel). Under the principles of claim preclusion, a valid final judgment rendered on the merits ... is an absolute bar to a subsequent action between the same parties upon the same claim." Hindmarsh v. Mock, 138 Idaho 92, 94, 57 P.3d 803, 805 (2002).

Collateral estoppel, or issue preclusion, may be applied to prior judgments, estopping a person from arguing a finding or verdict that has already been rendered. Anderson v. City of Pocatello, 112 Idaho 176, 183, 731 P.2d 171, 177 (1986). The test of when collateral estoppel should apply is (1) whether the party had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue, (2) whether the issue decided in the previous litigation is identical to the current issue presented, (3) whether the issue was actually decided in the previous litigation and whether the issue was necessary to the prior judgment, (4) whether the final judgment was on the merits and (5) whether the party who the judgment is asserted against was a party or in privity with the party to the prior judgment. Anderson, 112 Idaho at 183-184, 731 P.2d at 177-179 (citations omitted).

In the present case, a stipulated guardianship order from 1999 exists for two of Yonkers' children. As to those two children, Yonkers has stipulated that she is an unfit parent. The Nevada guardianship order is temporary according to Nevada statute, and may be revoked at any time. N.R.S. § 159.1905. Navarro was not a party to the guardianship order and the order does not address Yonkers' fitness as a parent as it relates to Jessica. Therefore, res judicata does not apply because Navarro was not a party to the first action and the first action did not address Yonkers' ability to parent Jessica. By definition, res judicata only applies to "subsequent action between the same parties upon the same claim." Hindmarsh, 138 Idaho at 94, 57 P.3d at 805. Additionally, collateral estoppel does not apply because the Nevada guardianship addresses a different issue. Specifically, the Nevada guardianship addresses the issue of Yonkers' fitness to parent Brandon and Justin, whereas, the issue in the present case is Yonkers' fitness to parent Jessica.

Under I.C. § 32-11-303(a), a valid guardianship order from another jurisdiction is applicable in this jurisdiction as it relates to the children listed in the guardianship order. However, the court is not bound to apply the findings in the guardianship order to other children. The magistrate judge correctly recognized the Nevada guardianship order and considered the order when evaluating "[t]he character and circumstances of all individuals involved". I.C. § 32-717(e). A trial court may consider a guardianship order relating to children that are not part of the custody dispute, but the lower court is not bound by the findings as it relates to the disputed child under the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel. A guardianship order from another jurisdiction, when it applies to different children and a different timeframe, is merely another factor to consider when determining parental fitness.

Jain does not apply to this case because Jessica was not a child in issue to the previous guardianship order.

"A court of this state [Idaho] shall recognize and enforce a child custody determination of a court of another state ..." I.C. § 32-11-303(a). A child custody determination places the burden on the parent to show that conditions have changed. Jain v. Priest, 30 Idaho 273, 274, 164 P. 364, 366 (1917).

In Jain, the court found that a determination of unfitness as a parent shifted the burden to the parent to show that the circumstances had changed. Jain, 30 Idaho at 274, 164 P. at 366. In that case, the parents petitioned the court to revoke a finding of parental unfitness after both of the children had been removed from the home. Id. at 273, 164 P. at 365. In Nevada, a guardianship for more than one child may be severed and removed as it relates to only one of the children. N.R.S. § 159-057. Therefore, a parent may be fit to parent one child, but unfit to parent a second. Here, the burden never shifted to Yonkers because there was no child custody determination relating to Jessica.

The court did not commit reversible error in refusing to admit the guardianship...