A.C.W. v. J.C.W.
| Docket Number: | 2006-CA-00337-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 06-05-2007 Opinion Author: ISHEE, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Termination of parental rights - Substantial erosion of relationship - Abandonment Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 12-20-2005 Appealed from: PEARL RIVER COUNTY CHANCERY COURT Judge: Johnny Lee Williams Disposition: GRANTED DIRECTED VERDICT IN FAVOR DEFENDANT(APPELLEE HEREIN) DENYING THE REQUEST TO TERMINATE PARENTAL RIGHTS. Case Number: 02-0479GN-W |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | A.C.W. |
RICHARD V. DYMOND |
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| Appellee: | J.C.W. | J.C.W. (PRO SE) |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Termination of parental rights - Substantial erosion of relationship - Abandonment |
| Summary of the Facts: | A.C.W. and J.C.W. were divorced based on irreconcilable differences. Prior to the divorce, a temporary court order gave A.C.W. custody of the couple’s child, H.D.W., since J.C.W. did not have a job or anywhere to live. The order granted visitation rights to J.C.W. and ordered him to pay child support. Several years later, the chancellor entered another temporary order granting J.C.W. visitation of H.D.W. for four hours every Saturday morning. A.C.W. later filed a petition to terminate J.C.W.’s parental rights. After a trial, the court refused to find by clear and convincing evidence that J.C.W. had abandoned his relationship with H.D.W. The chancellor also refused to find an erosion of the relationship between J.C.W. and H.D.W. The court entered an order denying termination of J.C.W.’s parental rights. A.C.W. appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | A.C.W. argues that the chancellor erred in failing to terminate J.C.W.’s parental rights because she presented evidence that he failed to exercise visitation or to pay child support and that there was a substantial erosion of the relationship between him and H.D.W. Abandonment is any conduct that evinces a settled purpose to forego all duties and relinquish all parental claims to the child. Failure alone to pay child support is insufficient to constitute abandonment. J.C.W. paid child support and occasionally exercised his visitation rights. The court noted that he had some legal troubles that possibly impacted his ability to visit his daughter and that A.C.W. put up all kinds of roadblocks to interfere with his visitation. J.C.W.’s testimony supports these findings by the chancellor. J.C.W. has continued to try to exercise his visitation rights. He is currently up-to-date on all of his child support payments. Furthermore, he has expressed a desire to develop a relationship with H.D.W. This is sufficiently credible evidence to support the chancellor’s finding that J.C.W. did not abandon H.D.W. |
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