In re Marriage of Gambla and Woodson, 2-05-0971.

• Decision Date: 31 July 2006
• Docket Number: No. 2-05-0971.,2-05-0971.
• Citation: 853 N.E.2d 847
• Parties: In re MARRIAGE OF Christopher M. GAMBLA, Petitioner-Appellant, and Kimberly K. WOODSON, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

853 N.E.2d 847

In re MARRIAGE OF Christopher M. GAMBLA, Petitioner-Appellant, and Kimberly K. WOODSON, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 2-05-0971.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District.

July 31, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Christopher M. Gambla, West Chicago, pro se.

Lyle B. Haskin, Barbara A. Corrigan, Henry D. Kass, Haskin & Corrigan, P.C., Wheaton, for Kimberly K. Woodson.

Justice GILLERAN JOHNSON delivered the opinion of the court:

The petitioner, Christopher Gambla, appeals, pro se, from the September 1, 2005, order of the circuit court of Du Page County dissolving his marriage to the respondent, Kimberly Woodson. On appeal, Christopher argues that the trial court erred in awarding custody of the parties' minor child, Kira Marie, to Kimberly.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The parties were married on May 11, 2002, in Atlanta, Georgia. Christopher is Caucasian, and Kimberly is African-American. Shortly after they married, the parties moved to Illinois, along with Che Woodson, Kimberly's then six-year-old son from a previous marriage. One child was born to the parties' marriage: Kira Marie, born on October 19, 2002. On May 13, 2003, Christopher filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in which he sought sole custody of Kira. On May 14, 2003, Kimberly filed a counterpetition for dissolution of marriage in which she also sought sole custody of Kira.

Between May 31, 2005, and July 5, 2005, the trial court conducted 15 days of trial, at which the parties, one court-appointed expert, three experts retained by Kimberly, and several character witnesses testified. Their testimony is as follows.

A. Christopher's and His Witnesses' Testimony

1. Christopher

Christopher testified that he lives in West Chicago, Illinois, along with his sister and her husband and their three children. Christopher's mother lives in an apartment on the lower level of the residence. Christopher has owned the home since August 1997. Christopher's office is in his home. He is a transportation consultant with Lea and Elliot, a company that designs and implements railway systems worldwide. Christopher has worked for Lea and Elliot since March 2001. Christopher has an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Dubuque, Iowa, and a master's degree in business from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.

Christopher started dating Kimberly in March 2000. The parties stopped dating in November 2001, but resumed the relationship in January 2002. Kimberly became pregnant in February 2002. At this time, Kimberly was residing in Georgia and Christopher was residing in Texas. After the parties relocated to Illinois in June 2002, they moved into the lower-level apartment of Christopher's home in West Chicago. Christopher's mother moved up to the main level with his sister and her family. Christopher did not observe any problems between Kimberly and his mother or between Kimberly and his sister and her family.

In September 2002, Kimberly informed Christopher that she was unhappy living in the West Chicago home, because she felt uncomfortable around his family. Subsequently, the parties moved into an apartment in Wheaton. According to Christopher, he was involved in Kimberly's prenatal care and was present for the birth of Kira at Central Du Page Hospital. The parties had planned to have a home birth. After complications ensued during Kimberly's labor, Christopher was instrumental in getting Kimberly to the hospital.

Following Kira's birth, Kimberly started to exhibit bizarre behaviors that led him to suspect she was depressed. A few weeks after Kira's birth, Kimberly insisted on taking Che and Kira to Atlanta to visit her family for Thanksgiving. Although he did not agree with the trip, he accompanied Kimberly. On the drive to Atlanta, Kimberly refused to eat or speak. About a month after Kira's birth, Christopher came home and found Kimberly sleeping in the closet, curled up in a fetal position. A few months after Kira was born, Christopher and Kimberly got into a verbal disagreement that escalated into Kimberly striking Christopher with a shirt while he was holding the baby.

Christopher testified that he and Kimberly frequently disagreed regarding the care of Kira. For example, ten days following Kira's birth, Kira needed treatment because of a discharge from her right eye. Kimberly refused a medicine, known as erthromycin, for Kira's eyes. Kimberly told Christopher that she did not want Kira to have the drug because she feared that it would interfere with breast-feeding. Kira has since had eye problems such as conjunctivitis and styes. Additionally, Kira was not given her immunizations on schedule, because Kimberly did not want her to receive all the immunizations at once. Christopher also disagreed with several trips that Kimberly took with Kira to New Jersey, North Carolina, Atlanta, and Alabama, because of Kira's young age.

Christopher testified regarding a three-week trip that Kimberly took with Che and Kira to Atlanta in May 2003 to be with her mother following her mother's cataract surgery. Christopher had planned to fly to Atlanta on the weekends so that he could spend time with Kira. The second weekend that Christopher flew to Atlanta, he was unable to visit with Kira, because Kimberly had taken her on a road trip to Birmingham, Alabama. Christopher cancelled his trip to Atlanta the third weekend because Kimberly informed him that she would be visiting family in Charlotte, North Carolina. He instead flew down on a Thursday. Christopher went to Kimberly's Georgia home, but was not permitted to enter. Kimberly initially refused to let Christopher take Kira, but eventually allowed him to take Kira to his hotel for a few hours.

In June 2003, when Kimberly returned from her trip to Atlanta, she moved out of the marital bedroom and into Che's room, whom she had left in North Carolina to attend school. Kimberly did not tell Christopher for several months what had happened to Che. Christopher always had enjoyed various activities with Che, such as flying kites and going to the park. Kira's crib remained in the marital bedroom. Kimberly cared for Kira during the day while Christopher was at work, and Christopher cared for Kira in the evening and on the weekend. During his evening time, Christopher would feed and bathe Kira and prepare her for bed. Kimberly was breast-feeding Kira and would pump breast milk for Christopher to feed Kira.

In February 2004, about the time Dr. Daniel Hynan performed a custody evaluation on the parties, Kimberly started feeding and bathing Kira and preparing her for bed. Christopher asked to resume these duties but Kimberly would not agree. Kira did continue to sleep in Christopher's room. Christopher eventually began to take Kira to his West Chicago home so that he could have more parenting time with her. Kimberly and Kira moved out of the apartment in September 2004. Kimberly did not tell Christopher where she was moving.

Christopher recalled an incident in March 2004 when he returned from work and noticed that Kira had red blotches all over her body. He asked Kimberly what had happened to Kira, and Kimberly responded that she did not know. Christopher went to the drug store and purchased some children's Benadryl. Christopher administered to Kira a dose of the Benadryl and her symptoms improved. The following day, Kimberly told Christopher that Kira had eaten a peanut butter cookie. Christopher knew that Che was allergic to peanuts, so he took Kira to Wheaton Pediatrics to have her tested for allergies. Dr. Grunewald diagnosed Kira as allergic to peanuts. According to Christopher, Kira receives her allergy medication only when she is with him.

Christopher testified that Kimberly continues to breast-feed Kira but no longer provides Christopher with any breast milk to feed her. Christopher further testified that he and Kimberly disagree about whether to feed Kira meat and whether to provide Kira with fluoridated water. Christopher would like Kira's diet to include chicken, pork, beef, and fish. He also would like Kira to have fluoridated water. According to Christopher, Kimberly is very concerned about the cost of diapers and does not change Kira as often as he does. Kimberly often accuses Christopher of being controlling.

2. Dr. Hynan

Dr. Daniel Hynan, whom the parties stipulated to be qualified as an expert, testified that he was a licensed psychologist ordered to perform a custody evaluation regarding the instant case. Dr. Hynan prepared a report recommending that Christopher be given sole custody of Kira. In his report, Dr. Hynan noted that Kimberly is a full-time homemaker. Kimberly has family in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Kimberly was seeking to remove Kira to North Carolina to be near her family there. Kimberly intends to seek full- or part-time employment as a nurse and hopes to be able to share a nanny with her niece, who is pregnant. Kimberly indicated in an interview with Dr. Hynan that she had experienced depression after she delivered Kira but that she opted not to pursue medication, because she was breast-feeding. Kimberly also indicated that she is interested in pursuing a holistic or alternative approach to Kira's health care and was reluctant to have Kira immunized.

Kimberly completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), a test that measures emotional and personality functioning. Kimberly answered questions in a somewhat defensive manner that is associated with limited personal insight. Despite her defensiveness, Kimberly had a significant elevation on a scale that indicates impulsiveness, difficulty with authority, and limited frustration tolerance. She also had an elevation on a supplemental scale that indicates the use of repression as a psychological defense, and she had an elevation close to the standard cutoff point on a scale that indicates low impulse control.

Kimberly also completed the...