Gutierrez v. Bradley

Citation500 P.3d 984
Decision Date22 December 2021
Docket NumberS-21-0079
Parties Austin GUTIERREZ f/k/a Austin Bradley, Appellant (Defendant), v. Jeffrey G. BRADLEY, Appellee (Plaintiff).
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Wyoming

500 P.3d 984

Austin GUTIERREZ f/k/a Austin Bradley, Appellant (Defendant),
v.
Jeffrey G. BRADLEY, Appellee (Plaintiff).

S-21-0079

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

December 22, 2021


Representing Appellant: H. Michael Bennett of Corthell and King, P.C., Laramie, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: No appearance.

Before FOX, C.J., and DAVIS, KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, and GRAY, JJ.

BOOMGAARDEN, Justice

¶1] Austin Gutierrez (Mother) appeals the district court's child custody modification order awarding Jeffrey G. Bradley (Father) primary physical custody of their two children. Mother contends the court abused its discretion when it determined a material change in circumstances had occurred that

[500 P.3d 986

warranted reconsideration of the existing child custody order, and when it failed to adequately consider the children's sibling relationships in its best interests analysis. Father did not file a brief. We affirm.

ISSUES

¶2] We rephrase Mother's issues as:
I. Did the district court abuse its discretion by finding a material change in circumstances had occurred that warranted reconsideration of child custody?

II. Did the district court abuse its discretion by failing to adequately consider the children's sibling relationships in its best interests analysis?

FACTS

[¶3] Mother and Father, who married in 2009, share two minor children: QGB born in 2009, and KJB born in 2010. During the marriage, the parties lived in Laramie, Wyoming. In January 2016, the parties entered into, and the court accepted, a stipulated divorce decree that awarded them joint legal, physical, and residential custody of the children. They agreed to an alternating two-week visitation schedule structured around Father's work travel.

[¶4] Shortly after the divorce, Father remarried. Father and his wife had another child, BB, in 2016. In 2017, Mother moved to Cheyenne and also remarried. Mother's husband had one daughter, JG, from a previous relationship, and Mother and her husband had their first child, GG, in 2018.

[¶5] Mother filed a petition to modify child custody when she moved to Cheyenne. The court granted Mother's petition in April 2018. First, it found that her move constituted a material change in circumstances because the alternating two-week visitation schedule became "simply not workable" and "detrimental" to the children.1 Then, it determined it was in the children's best interests for the parties to share joint legal custody and for Mother to have primary residential custody2 subject to Father's liberal visitation.3

[¶6] Father filed the custody modification petition at issue in July 2020. His petition contended that a material change in circumstances had occurred in that: the children had expressed a desire to live with Father; Father had moved to Evans, Colorado to be closer to work and now was able to be home every night; Mother had created instability in the children's lives by moving three times since the last modification; and Mother had hindered Father's visitation, caused scenes with Father and his wife at school events, and failed to keep Father informed and involved with the children's lives, schooling, and appointments. Father argued that it was in the children's best interests that he be awarded primary residential custody.

[¶7] In September 2020, Mother's family relocated to Artesia, New Mexico due to her husband's job transfer. Mother and her husband welcomed another child, SG, sometime thereafter.

[¶8] The court held a hearing on Father's petition in January 2021. The children testified first. QGB discussed the move to New Mexico and expressed a desire for things to be like they were before when his parents lived closer. Although he had nothing negative to say about life at Mother's, when asked what he liked about being at Father's he

[500 P.3d 987

answered that they "do a lot more activities" there, they "do more things as a family[,]" and he is "happier there sometimes." KJB did not state a preference to reside with either parent.

¶9] Father testified next. He expressed some frustrations with Mother's co-parenting since the 2018 custody modification. Specifically, Mother had moved several times since then and she did not always keep Father informed of those moves. Father also discussed instances when Mother was inflexible regarding visitation, failed to include him on school forms and thereby made it difficult for him to access information, and did not allow him to help out with the children's medical appointments and needs. Additionally, Mother and her husband had caused two public scenes by yelling at Father and his wife in front of the children at school events.

[¶10] Father was particularly concerned about Mother's latest move to New Mexico and the nine-hour distance it created between him and the children. Since Mother's move, Father had only seen the children for Thanksgiving and half of Christmas break, and he felt that his communication with them was otherwise strained. Father wanted to see the children more, and because their schooling in New Mexico was online due to COVID-19, Father asked Mother if they could return to the rotating two-week visitation schedule, but this did not occur. Father expressed concern for the children because he felt like they were forced to keep...

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7 cases
  • Lamb v. Newman (In re SGN)
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • March 21, 2022
    ...it acts in a manner which exceeds the bounds of reason under the circumstances." [506 P.3d 752 Gutierrez v. Bradley , 2021 WY 139, ¶ 15, 500 P.3d 984, 988 (Wyo. 2021) (quoting Kimzey v. Kimzey , 2020 WY 52, ¶ 27, 461 P.3d 1229, 1238 (Wyo. 2020) ). "We ‘will not disturb an order ... so long ......
  • Lamb v. Newman (In re SGN)
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • March 21, 2022
    ... ... "A court does not abuse its discretion unless it acts in ... a manner which exceeds the bounds of reason under the ... circumstances." Gutierrez v. Bradley, 2021 WY ... 139, ¶ 15, 500 P.3d 984, 988 (Wyo. 2021) (quoting ... Kimzey v. Kimzey, 2020 WY 52, ¶ 27, 461 P.3d ... 1229, 1238 (Wyo ... ...
  • In re Kelly
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • May 24, 2023
    ... ... modification ruling for an abuse of discretion." ... Lackey v. Lackey, 2022 WY 22, ¶ 22, 503 P.3d ... 92, 96 (Wyo. 2022) (quoting Gutierrez v. Bradley, ... 2021 WY 139, ¶ 15, 500 P.3d 984, 988 (Wyo. 2021)) ... "[W]e consider the evidence in the light most favorable ... to the ... ...
  • Gardels v. Bowling
    • United States
    • Wyoming Supreme Court
    • January 19, 2023
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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