Webb v. Webb, 88-2445
| Decision Date | 23 May 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-2445,88-2445 |
| Parties | 14 Fla. L. Weekly 1265 Billie Ann WEBB, Appellant, v. Robert E. WEBB, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Akerman, Senterfitt & Eidson and Anthony J. O'Donnell, Jr., Miami, for appellant.
Papy, Weissenborn & Papy and Sheridan K. Weissenborn, Miami, for intervenor/appellee Jane Webb.
Before NESBITT, JORGENSON and LEVY, JJ.
Billie Ann Webb, natural mother of Bobby Webb, appeals from an order granting custody of her son to his stepmother. For the following reasons, we reverse.
In February, 1978, Billie Ann Webb 1 and Robert Webb were divorced. The trial court awarded custody of Bobby Webb, then ten months old, to the father and ordered liberal visitation with the mother. All parties were living in Miami. The father remarried, and, in 1981, he, his new wife Jane Webb, and Bobby moved from Miami to Jacksonville, Florida, without notifying Billie Ann Webb. There is evidence in the record that, although the mother attempted to contact her child on many occasions, the father and his wife thwarted those attempts. Bobby and his mother did not see each other for seven years.
In July, 1987, the father died in Jacksonville. In his will, Robert Webb appointed Jane Webb guardian of his son Bobby. After the father's funeral, Bobby came to Miami with his maternal grandparents and was reunited with his mother. On July 27, 1987, Billie Ann Webb filed a Verified Motion for Confirmation of Custody. The trial court entered a temporary order maintaining Bobby's presence in Dade County with his mother until a full hearing could be conducted. The trial court appointed a guardian ad litem for Bobby and ordered HRS to conduct a home study of Billie Ann Webb and a custody investigation of Jane Webb. The trial court also appointed a psychologist, Dr. Diane Lillesand, to perform a psychological evaluation of all interested parties. The guardian ad litem requested Dr. Michael Epstein, a child psychologist, to interview the child.
The HRS home study of Billie Ann Webb, dated December 12, 1987, concluded that there was The HRS consultant recommended that "[t]he natural mother Billie Ann Webb appears to be an adequate maternal figure and could provide for her son, Bobby Webb."
Dr. Lillesand evaluated the mother, the paternal grandparents, Bobby, and Jane Webb and found Billie Ann Webb "essentially free from any mental illness or severe emotional problems which would cause her difficulties in raising a child." In her recommendations, Dr. Lillesand stated:
The difficulty with the present case is that there are no real "good guys", and it is also not clear what Bobby himself may want, or what might be in his best interests. On the one hand, he has been through a significant loss and any further disruption from what is familiar, or less of significant people in his life (his stepmother and stepbrothers) might be emotionally traumatic and harmful to him. In addition, Bobby himself wishes and believes that it was his father's wish that he should stay in Jacksonville with his stepmother. To be moved against his will is almost certain to be traumatic for him. Further, Bobby has many feelings of resentment toward his natural mother, fostered though they were by his father and stepmother, and only time, exposure to his mother and perhaps therapy will help him overcome them.
On the other hand, Bobby was deprived of a normal relationship with his mother largely (though not entirely) because of the actions of his father and stepmother. To leave Bobby where he is will almost certainly ensure that this estrangement will continue, and in a certain sense, the innocent will continue to be victimized. In addition, since Mrs. Webb has been estranged from Mr. and Mrs. Bruce [the paternal grandparents] for several years, it is highly unlikely that Bobby would be blocked, at least psychologically, from developing a loving relationship with his grandparents, who genuinely care about him.
Balancing these factors, and considering Bobby's long-term needs, it is recommended that Bobby be returned to live with his natural mother, Billie Maas. It is recommended that this transition be handled delicately, and that Bobby be allowed to retain contact with and visit his stepmother during and after the transition period.
At the hearing, Dr. Lillesand testified that:
I don't see problems with either woman [the mother or Jane Webb] as a parent, as a mother. There is certainly no implication--I would not think any implication that either one of them would be harmful to him or be a poor parent/caretaker for him....
Again, I see Billie as very capable of parenting and taking care of a child. She also has some personality characteristics which might make her at times less sensitive or at times less active on a child's behalf than perhaps she should be.... Testing did not show any major personality problems or characteristics that would interfere with them or render them unfit to be in contact with him. They both have the capacity to nurture. They both are loving people.... (Emphasis added.)
Dr. Lillesand also testified that Billie Ann Webb had a passive personality, suffered from a low level of psychological energy, and was "a very easily discouraged person." However, she stated that these problems "should not interfere with her [Billie Ann Webb's] ability to parent him [Bobby]." When asked about Billie Ann Webb's sparse contact with her son over the years, Dr. Lillesand stated that Billie Ann Webb's tendency to become easily discouraged or intimidated made it difficult for her to pursue contact with Bobby, especially in light of disputes with her former husband and Jane Webb over visitation and the distance between Miami and Jacksonville.
Dr. Michael Epstein conducted standardized tests on Bobby and interviewed him for one-half hour. At the hearing, Dr. Epstein testified by telephone that Bobby preferred being with his stepmother and perceived Jane Webb as "his psychological mother." Dr. Epstein opined that it was in Bobby's "best interest" to be in his stepmother's custody after his father's death.
At the hearing, Billie Ann Webb testified that she had not seen her son for seven years following his move to Jacksonville because his father and Jane Webb had thwarted visitation, she did not have the financial resources to travel to Jacksonville, and she had been injured in automobile accidents in 1980 and 1981. She testified that she worked five days a week and had to care for another child from her first marriage.
The trial court found:
1. That based upon the evidence submitted and the personal observation of the witnesses as they testified the Court finds that it is in the best interest of the minor child ROBERT E. WEBB that the primary custody remain with the stepmother and intervenor, JANE WEBB.
2. That it is in the best interest of the child ROBERT E. WEBB that he continue to reside with the Intervenor, JANE WEBB, who is the psychological mother of the minor child.
3. The Court further finds that it is detrimental that the minor child ROBERT WEBB be permanently removed from the Intervenor, JANE WEBB, in order to reside with his natural mother, BILLIE WEBB now known as BILLIE MAAS.
4. The Court finds, further, that the natural mother is unfit to be the primary residential custodian and that her explanation for failing to visit or to maintain any meaningful contact with the child is simply not believable. Rather than a sincere desire to parent this child, the evidence more strongly suggest [sic] that she is motivated in pressing her claim for custody in the hope of receiving financial benefits from the grandparents.
5. The Court finds from the evidence that the natural mother, BILLIE WEBB now known as BILLIE MAAS, has effectively abandoned the child and the Court further finds that she does not have sufficient interest and/or emotional energy as defined by the Court appointed psychologist, Dr. D. Lillesand to appropriately parent this child on a full time basis and therefore to place this child with her under these circumstances would not be in the child's best interest and it would be detrimental for the child.
The trial court...
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