Yates v. Yates

• Decision Date: 31 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 696 EDA 2007.,696 EDA 2007.
• Citation: 2008 PA Super 296,963 A.2d 535
• Parties: David T. YATES, Appellant v. Jackie YATES, Appellee.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

963 A.2d 535

2008 PA Super 296

David T. YATES, Appellant v. Jackie YATES, Appellee.

No. 696 EDA 2007.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued October 1, 2008.

Filed December 31, 2008.

Howard J. Bashman, Willow Grove, for appellant.

Charissa J. Liller, New Hope, for appellee.

BEFORE: BOWES and PANELLA, JJ. and McEWEN, P.J.E.

OPINION BY BOWES, J.:

¶ 1 David Yates ("Father") appeals from the custody order entered on February 15, 2007, wherein the trial court granted shared legal custody of Ashley Yates to Father and Jackie Yates ("Mother"), awarded Father primary physical custody, and appointed a parenting coordinator to help the parties implement the custody order. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand with instructions.

¶ 2 In a prior appeal, this Court succinctly summarized the salient facts and procedural history of this contentious litigation as follows:

The battle for custody of [Ashley] began in 2002. The battle has been intense, involving many hearings in open court, as well as many settlement conferences. By late 2006, the parties had identified physical custody as a critical matter and had, to some extent at least, agreed to basic terms of physical custody and further agreed that, given the unrelentingly contentious relationship between the parents of [Ashley], a highly detailed final custody order would be required. The lower court then directed the parties to submit proposed terms for such a detailed custody order. The lower court's review of the parties' proposals revealed, perhaps predictably, certain points of agreement and certain points of disagreement. A hearing was held on February 2, 2007 in order to allow each parent an opportunity to present the merits of their respective proposals to the court before the court entered a final custody order.

At the February 2, 2007 hearing, [Father] began by urging that the level of cooperation between the parties was insufficient to allow shared legal custody, noting that [Mother] objected to [Father's] proposed annual meetings to review the ongoing vitality of the custody arrangements as [Ashley] matures, and preferred that the court appoint a parent coordinator, and, thereafter, proceeded to articulate other, more detailed issues of disagreement. [Mother's] presentation substantially tracked that of [Father], reinforcing the reasons for [Mother's] disagreement with various terms proposed by [Father], and familiarizing the court with the concept of appointing a parent coordinator to settle day-to-day parenting disputes.

Yates v. Yates, 936 A.2d 1191, 1192-93 (Pa.Super.2007) (internal citations to certified record omitted).

¶ 3 On February 15, 2007, the trial court entered a custody order wherein it granted the parties joint legal custody of Ashley, awarded Father primary physical custody, awarded Mother partial physical custody, outlined the parameters of the custody schedule, and appointed Natalie L. Famous, Esquire, as a parenting coordinator to assist the parties in implementing the custodial arrangement. In a concomitant order that the trial court entered on the same date and attached to the custody order, the trial court enumerated the terms of the parenting coordinator's appointment, including the length of her appointment and the scope of her authority, and it explained the decision-making process. Father filed a timely appeal on March 19, 2007.¹ Father contended that the trial court erred in (1) holding that he had agreed to shared legal custody, (2) finding that he consented to the appointment of a parenting coordinator, and (3) concluding that he waived appellate review of its decision to appoint the parenting coordinator. In its opinion filed pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.1925(a), the trial court reasoned that Father's complaints were unwarranted because Father had previously agreed to abide by the terms of the trial court's custody order.

¶ 4 On appeal, this Court rejected the trial court's reasoning and concluded that Father did not waive his right to challenge the trial court's decision simply because he previously had agreed to submit certain issues for the court's determination. Accordingly, we remanded the case with directions to the trial court to fashion "more specific factual findings and conclusions of law . . . as to the substantive custody issues involved in order to allow this Court to perform a meaningful review of the lower court's orders...." Id. at 1195. On March 7, 2008, the trial court issued a thorough Rule 1925(a) opinion addressing Father's complaints and explaining its rationale.

¶ 5 The following issues are now ready for our consideration: (1) whether the trial court erred in granting shared legal custody; (2) whether the trial court erred in appointing a parenting coordinator; and (3) whether the trial court's February 15, 2007 custody order is procedurally flawed. See Father's brief at 9.

¶ 6 In reviewing a custody order, our scope and standard of review are well established.

Our standard of review over a custody order is for a gross abuse of discretion. If a trial court, in reaching its conclusion, overrides or misapplies the law or exercises judgment which is manifestly unreasonable, or reaches a conclusion that is the result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will as shown by the evidence of record, then discretion is abused. Our scope of review over custody disputes is broad; this Court is not bound by the deductions and inferences the trial court derives from its findings of fact, nor must we accept the trial court's findings of fact when these findings are not supported by competent evidence of record. Our paramount concern in child custody matters is the best interests of the children.

Ottolini v. Barrett, 954 A.2d 610, 612 (Pa.Super.2008) (internal citations omitted).

¶ 7 Since the trial court relied upon the appointment of a parenting coordinator to bolster its decision to grant mother shared legal custody, we begin by addressing that issue.

¶ 8 Parenting coordination is a relatively novel concept in Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to shield children from the effects of parenting conflicts and to help parents in contentious cases comply with custody orders and implement parenting plans.² The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts ("AFCC"), an interdisciplinary multi-jurisdictional association of professionals that appointed a task force to develop model standards of practice for parenting coordination, defined parenting coordination as

a child-focused alternative dispute resolution process in which a mental health or legal professional with mediation training and experience assists high conflict parents to implement their parenting plan by facilitating the resolution of their disputes in a timely manner, educating parents about children's needs, and with prior approval of the parties and/or the court, making decisions within the scope of the court order or appointment contract.

Anderer, supra at 1082. See also Guidelines for Parenting Coordination, 44 Family Court Review 164-181 (2005). According to the AFCC task force, parent coordination is most appropriate in cases where, as here, "high-conflict parents have demonstrated their longer-term inability or unwillingness to make parenting decisions on their own, to comply with parenting agreements and orders, to reduce their child-related conflicts, and to protect their children from the impact of that conflict." 44 Family Court Review 164, 165.

¶ 9 Herein, the trial court concluded that its decision to appoint a parenting coordinator was a reasonable exercise of discretion and in Ashley's best interest. In reaching its decision, the trial court relied upon the recommendations and assessments of Dr. Don G. Seraydarian, the custody evaluator who has been involved in this case since 2003. The trial court observed that Dr. Seraydarian described the parents' relationship as "highly destructive, inflammatory and hostile." Trial Court Opinion, 3/7/08, at 10. Specifically, Dr. Seraydarian noted an intense level of animosity between parents, and he even characterized the relationship as "catastrophic." N.T. Hearing, 9/29/06, at 59-60.

¶ 10 Father's scattershot argument on appeal challenges the trial court's appointment of the parenting coordinator on several fronts. His primary complaint is that the trial court lacked authority to appoint a parenting coordinator. See Father's brief at 31. Father's less precise assertions include the contention that the appointment of the parenting coordinator is tantamount to an improper delegation of judicial decision-making authority.³

¶ 11 At the outset, we observe that Father's claim that he did not consent to the parenting coordinator's appointment is misleading. While Father initially opposed the idea of appointing a parenting coordinator, during the February 2, 2007 custody hearing, Father agreed, under oath, that he would permit the court to decide, inter alia, whether to employ a parenting coordinator. See N.T., Custody Hearing, 2/2/07, at 39-42. If Father disapproved of a parenting coordinator's participation in this case, he simply could have objected to its inclusion with the matters the trial court would resolve. He did not do so. Instead, following an on-the-record colloquy, Father agreed to permit the trial court to determine this issue. Hence, we conclude that Father's claim is unsubstantiated.

¶ 12 We note that this Court previously rejected the trial court's use of the on-the-record colloquy to "short-circuit" Father's appellate rights. Yates, 936 A.2d at 1195. Significantly, however, this Court did not conclude that Father did not assent to the trial court's proposal; we found merely that Father did not waive his appellate rights by stipulating that the trial court could resolve the contested issues. Id. Accordingly, the claim fails.

¶ 13 Next, we address Father's assertion that the appointment of the parenting coordinator is tantamount to an improper delegation of judicial...