Sears v. Kuhn
| Decision Date | 16 August 2022 |
| Docket Number | 22CA914 |
| Citation | 2022 Ohio 2898 |
| Parties | Joseph and Krissy Sears, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Cheyenne Kuhn and River Sears, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
2022-Ohio-2898
Joseph and Krissy Sears, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Cheyenne Kuhn and River Sears, Defendants-Appellants.
No. 22CA914
Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fourth District, Pike
August 16, 2022
Chase B. Bunstine, Chillicothe, Ohio, for appellant
Cheyenne Kuhn. [1] Jason M. Miller, Villarreal Law Firm, Chillicothe, Ohio, for appellees.
DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
Michael D. Hess, Judge
{¶1} Cheyenne Kuhn appeals from a judgment of the Pike County Common Pleas Court, Juvenile Division, denying her motion to vacate or set aside a judgment entry granting legal custody of her child to the child's paternal grandparents. In her sole assignment of error, she asserts the trial court did not have jurisdiction to grant legal custody because there was never proper service on her, and even if there was service in compliance with the applicable rules, it did not comply with due process because the service was not made to an address where it would be reasonably calculated to reach her. For the reasons that follow, we overrule the assignment of error and affirm the trial court's judgment.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
{¶2} Cheyenne Kuhn ("Mother") and River Sears ("Father") are the biological parents of B.S., who was born on January 16, 2018. Mother and Father married in September 2018, but Mother did not legally change her last name to "Sears." On June 22, 2020, the child's paternal grandparents, Joseph and Krissy Sears ("Grandparents"), filed a complaint against Mother, listing her name as "Cheyenne Sears," and Father for legal custody of the child. The complaint alleged that Mother and Father had become totally incapable of supporting or caring for the child and that it would be detrimental to the child to be in the custody of his parents. The caption of the complaint gave the same address for Mother and Father: 2212 Denver Road, Waverly, Ohio 45690. The Grandparents also filed a motion for temporary custody during the pendency of the action and an affidavit in support of the motion. Grandmother averred that the child had been in the custody of Grandparents since August 2019 due to "drinking, fighting, & neglect," that Father was "mentally abusive," that Mother was "physically abusive," and that Father had talked about committing suicide. The trial court granted Grandparents emergency temporary custody the day they filed the complaint.
{¶3} The record contains certified mail return receipts which indicate that on July 1, 2020, Father signed for certified mail directed to Mother and Father at the Denver Road address. However, Krissy Sears ("Grandmother") was the only party to appear at the hearings the trial court conducted in this matter. On July 27, 2020, the trial court conducted a hearing on the emergency order and stated that it would give Grandparents temporary custody of the child. Afterwards, the court issued an entry designating Grandparents residential parents and legal custodians of the child. On October 20, 2020,
the court conducted a review hearing. Subsequently, the court issued an entry stating that "temporary custody shall remain with" Grandparents. On April 19, 2021, the court conducted the final hearing on legal custody and issued a judgment entry granting legal custody to Grandparents.
{¶4} On May 3, 2021, Mother filed a motion to vacate or set aside the April 19, 2021 entry asserting the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the legal custody proceeding and lacked personal jurisdiction over her because she did not receive service and the service method used by Grandparents was not reasonably calculated to reach her. The trial court conducted a hearing on the motion at which Mother testified that on June 4, 2020, she left Father and moved from the Denver Road address to 190 Loop Road, Piketon, Ohio. On the day Grandparents filed the legal custody complaint, Mother was living at the Loop Road address but her mailing address was still the Denver Road address. Mother admitted she was still receiving mail at the Denver Road address as of July 1, 2020. However, Mother testified that she did not receive notice of the legal custody case via certified mail even though she received other mail sent to the Denver Road address-an electric bill that was in her name, her "check," and "some medical bills." Mother claimed she did not learn of the legal custody case until April 21, 2021 -two days after the final hearing.
{¶5} Mother testified that she visited with B.S. during the pendency of the case but thought B.S. was with Grandparents under a temporary custody agreement. Evidently, on October 2, 2019, a "Power of Attorney for Grandparents Rights" which Mother and Father gave Grandparents was filed in the trial court, and Mother executed
the document under the name "Cheyenne Sears."[2] Mother testified that there had been a domestic violence case against Father, and Grandmother brought papers to Mother and Father and said that if they did not "sign over emergency custody or temporary custody" the child would be "brought into the court case, and put into the system in foster care for six months." Grandmother said Mother and Father could get B.S. back if they got their "ducks in a row" and got "stable vehicles" and took parenting classes. Mother was 19 years old at the time and "scared to death," and she signed the papers. Mother testified that she and Father took parenting classes in August 2020 and that she had a "stable vehicle" and "stable income" from working two jobs.
{¶6} Grandmother testified that she previously asked Mother and Father to sign B.S. over to Grandparents "temporarily" because she had spoken to an attorney and was concerned about what impact the domestic violence case against Father would have on B.S. Grandmother admitted that she knew Mother was not staying at the Denver Road address but testified that Mother was still "going back" and "was getting her mail there." Grandmother testified that Mother and Father are "in and out of each other's life so much it isn't funny," that Mother "still has stuff" at the Denver Road address, and that she "goes out there and stays with [Father] now even though she's decided to do the dissolution." Grandmother testified that during the pendency of the legal custody case, she communicated with Mother about some of the hearings. After the first hearing, Grandmother told Mother that the Grandparents "still have temporary custody."
Grandmother and Mother spoke the day before the second hearing, and Mother "was crying saying that it made her nervous." Grandmother testified that Mother texted her later and asked, "How did court go?" Grandmother responded, "Everything is still the same. We still have temporary custody." Grandmother testified that she did not speak to Mother after the final hearing.
{¶7} Father testified that he lives at the Denver Road address. Mother and Father separated around June 4, 2020, because Father found out Mother was cheating on him. Mother stopped living at the Denver Road address though she "still had some stuff there" and occasionally stayed there. She resided "with her mom and dad for a while [sic]" and "would also stay at other places too." Father testified that on or about July 1, 2020, he signed for the certified mail with the summons and notice of proceedings in this case and that Mother was still receiving mail at the Denver Road address at that time. Father testified that he "honestly cannot remember" whether he gave Mother the certified mail though he was "wanting to say yes." Father testified that he spoke to Mother about the legal custody case while it was pending even though Father did not really understand the paperwork he signed for or that his parents were seeking "permanent legal custody." Mother told him about conversations with Grandmother regarding the proceedings, and Mother and Father "would talk about how court went." Father testified that Mother had asked him to testify that "she had no knowledge of any of the court proceedings" in exchange for a "50/50 custody" arrangement.
{¶8} Later, Mother's attorney asked Father whether he ever gave or showed a copy of the paperwork he signed for to Mother, and Father testified, "No." Mother's attorney asked, "To your knowledge, she never saw the paperwork?" Father testified,
"No." Mother's attorney asked whether Father had conversations with Mother about "this case." Father said, "About this case today?" Counsel said, "Yeah." Father said, "Yes," and then testified that the conversations happened "[t]he "past few days" and that he did not have a conversation with Mother prior to "April 19th." The court expressed confusion and asked follow-up questions. Father clarified that he might have given Mother the certified mail but could not recall doing so. He also clarified that between June 2020 and April 2021, he had spoken to Mother "a few times" about the court proceedings-not the grandparent power of attorney. They talked about "how the days at court went" and "what was said at them court days [sic]." Mother's attorney then asked Father whether it was his "idea all along this was a temporary custody [sic]?" Father testified,...
To continue reading
Request your trial