Speagle v. Seitz

• Decision Date: 18 December 2001
• Docket Number: No. 32PA01.,32PA01.
• Citation: 354 N.C. 525,557 S.E.2d 83
• Parties: William SPEAGLE, and wife, Derene Speagle, v. Christy Lynette Holland SEITZ.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

557 S.E.2d 83

354 N.C. 525

William SPEAGLE, and wife, Derene Speagle, v. Christy Lynette Holland SEITZ.

No. 32PA01.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

December 18, 2001.

Sigmon, Clark, Mackie, Hutton, Hanvey & Ferrell, P.A., by Forrest A. Ferrell and Stephen L. Palmer, Hickory; and Long, Parker, Warren & Jones, P.A., by Robert B. Long, Jr., Asheville, for plaintiff-appellants. Ruldolf Maher Widenhouse & Fialko, by Thomas K. Maher, Chapel Hill, for defendant-appellee.

LAKE, Chief Justice.

The question presented for review in this case is whether the trial court was correct in determining defendant lost her constitutionally protected status as a parent and in applying the "best interests of the child" analysis under the circumstances in this case. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, holding there was no evidence of "conduct inconsistent" with defendant's protected status at the time of trial or at any time soon before trial, which would support triggering of the "best interest" analysis. Speagle v. Seitz, 141 N.C.App. 534, 537 n. 1, 541 S.E.2d 188, 190 n. 1 (2000).

On 1 March 2001, this Court allowed defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' appeal of a constitutional question, but allowed plaintiffs' petition for discretionary review. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and direct that court to reinstate the trial court's judgment awarding custody of the child to plaintiffs.

On 3 September 1993, defendant, Christy Lynette Holland (now Christy Seitz), gave birth to a daughter, Amber Ashton Holland, out of wedlock. The biological father of the child was William Stacy Speagle. Starting soon after the child's birth, defendant and the child often moved from one location to another. Defendant and the minor child resided with plaintiffs, William Speagle and Derene Speagle, and the father from about 1 October 1993 until shortly after Christmas in December 1993. Plaintiffs are the parents of Stacy Speagle and the paternal grandparents of the child.

Defendant was employed as a topless dancer at various establishments in North Carolina from 1993 through 1995. Defendant was fired from one such establishment in June 1995 in Hickory, North Carolina, for violating its rules by ejaculating a male patron in front of the audience.

During the early part of 1994, defendant and the infant child resided with defendant's mother and stepfather. During this period, defendant denied that Stacy Speagle was the biological father of the child. However, a paternity test confirmed he was the biological father. Defendant and her daughter moved to a townhouse in the Bethlehem community of Alexander County, North Carolina, in January or February 1994. Plaintiffs and the child's father visited the child at this location. Defendant and the child moved to Raleigh in October 1994. In March 1995, they moved back to Hickory, North Carolina. After her return to Hickory in 1995, defendant danced at another establishment in Hickory at various times throughout the year. While defendant worked, she left her child in the care of a woman previously warned by the Catawba County Department of Social Services for keeping too many children in her house. Defendant occasionally picked the child up at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. from this residence.

Defendant and the father reconciled several times after the child's birth. After a period of reconciliation in the summer of 1995, they soon separated again. Defendant did not allow the father to see his child after this separation. The father filed two separate actions in Catawba County, seeking custody and legitimation of the minor child. On 12 December 1995, the trial court entered a temporary custody order providing joint custody to defendant and the father. The custody case was set for trial commencing at the 21 February 1996 session of court.

In September 1995, defendant moved to Carolina Beach, North Carolina, with the child in her custody. From September 1995 until November 1995, defendant worked part-time as a topless dancer in Snead's Ferry, North Carolina. During this period, she had a relationship with Bryce Delon, a marine stationed nearby at Camp Lejeune. On weekends, defendant and her sister, Brandy Holland, would spend the night on the base with Delon and his roommate, Heath Mosely. On occasion, defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with Delon, and her sister engaged in sexual intercourse with Mosely during these weekends.

Defendant had sole custody of the child from the time of her birth until 12 December 1995, when the trial court entered an order granting joint custody to defendant and the father. During the times defendant and the father were not reconciled and he had custody of the minor child, both father and child resided with plaintiffs.

In December 1995, defendant traveled with Delon to Texas to meet his family. On 18 January 1996, defendant and Stacy Speagle again reconciled and began living together in defendant's home in Hickory. After this reconciliation, Delon visited defendant at her residence in Hickory.

On 29 January 1996, Delon shot and killed Stacy Speagle. Later that evening, Delon committed suicide. On 30 January 1996, defendant was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Speagle and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. On the day of defendant's arrest, plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking permanent custody of the child as well as an ex parte order for temporary custody. The District Court, Catawba County, immediately entered an emergency order granting plaintiffs custody of the child. Defendant remained in jail until 26 March 1996, when she was released on bond. After being released on bond, defendant moved to Dallas, Texas, and lived with her sister, Brandy Holland. She later established her own residence there and worked as an office receptionist.

On 29 March 1996, defendant filed an answer to plaintiffs' complaint and counterclaimed for custody. On 2 May 1996, the trial court denied defendant's motion for temporary custody. The court allowed plaintiffs' motion to stay further proceedings either until the completion of defendant's trial for Speagle's murder or the district attorney, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Hickory Police Department "decid[e] to share all information which plaintiffs' counsel considers adequate to present the case of the plaintiffs at a custody proceeding." On 29 June 1997, after a six-week trial, defendant was acquitted of all charges relating to the murder of Speagle. In October 1997, defendant married Eric Seitz in Texas, and in June 1998, she gave birth to a second child.

In the case sub judice, the trial court found as a fact that defendant's "lifestyle and romantic involvements" resulted in her "neglect and separation from the minor child" and concluded that defendant was unfit to have custody of the child. The trial court found as a fact and concluded as a matter of law that, at the time of the hearing, it was in the best interests of the child for custody to remain with plaintiffs. Defendant was awarded visitation with the child.

The trial court further found defendant's conduct to be inconsistent with her constitutionally protected interest as set forth in Petersen v. Rogers, 337 N.C. 397, 445 S.E.2d 901 (1994). In Petersen, this Court held that natural parents have a constitutionally protected interest in the companionship, custody, care, and control of their children. Absent a showing of unfitness or neglect, this interest must prevail in a custody dispute between a parent and a nonparent. Id. at 403-04, 445 S.E.2d at 905.

In addition, the trial court made several findings of fact regarding plaintiffs and their relationship with the minor child. The trial court found plaintiffs presented ample testimony of their love for the child and their ability to provide for her care and upbringing. Plaintiffs had good character and reputations, with a stable life in a comfortable, well-kept home in Hickory, North Carolina. The child was well adjusted; was enrolled in a nearby school; and had a strong bond with plaintiff, Derene Speagle. Shortly after the child began visitation with defendant, plaintiffs sought professional assistance from a child psychologist to assist the child with those visits. The trial court found that since the child's birth, plaintiffs and the child had a close and loving relationship, the continuation of which was necessary to protect the child's best interests and welfare.

Defendant appealed the trial court's decision to the Court of Appeals, contending there was insufficient evidence to support the trial court's finding that defendant lost her constitutionally protected right to custody. The Court of Appeals agreed, and based on Petersen, it reversed the trial court's ruling and awarded custody of the child to defendant. Speagle, 141 N.C.App. at 537-38,541 S.E.2d at 190. The Court of Appeals held there existed "no evidence [d]efendant was engaging in any `conduct inconsistent' with her protected status in August 1998, the date of the custody trial, or any time soon before that trial." Id. at 537 n. 1, 541 S.E.2d at 190 n. 1. The Court of Appeals thus concluded that defendant did not lose her constitutionally protected status. Id. at 537, 541 S.E.2d at 190. Therefore, the court reasoned that it was improper for the trial court to apply the best interests analysis. Id.

In the appeal to the Court of Appeals, plaintiffs asserted a cross-assignment of error addressing the trial court's failure to admit and consider evidence of defendant's participation in the murder. This cross-assignment was not addressed by the Court of Appeals. In their petition for discretionary review by this Court, plaintiffs included this issue that the Court of Appeals failed to address. On 1 March 2001, this Court allowed plaintiffs' petition for discretionary review with no limitations.

Plaintiffs now argue that the trial court's findings of fact of defendant's...