Opinion ID: 2621955
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Facilitating and encouraging a close and continuing relationship between Miranda and the other parent

Text: The superior court noted that there continue to be challenges with communication between the parents. The court reviewed and commented on much of the testimony. It stated that the parents should allow private phone conversations between Miranda and the other parent. But the court agreed with Brekke's decision to limit Eniero's phone calls. The court criticized Eniero for not having Miranda call Brekke during a three-week trip to Oregon. With regard to medical issues, the court concluded that Brekke was not required to inform Eniero of Miranda's minor ailments but suggested that notification would be appreciated. The court criticized Eniero for drawing circles in marker on Miranda's back to document Miranda's rash or bug bites, especially when the rash or bites could be treated at home and healed in a short period of time. Weighing this evidence, the court concluded that Brekke demonstrated that he's doing a slightly better job in facilitating and encouraging a close relationship between Miranda and the other parent than Eniero. It noted that Dr. David Wilcox, who served as Eniero and Brekke's counselor for court-ordered co-parent counseling and later continued to counsel Brekke individually, testified that Brekke demonstrated a greater willingness to have open communication. The court also noted that, despite Eniero's professed scheduling flexibility when it came to caring for Miranda, Eniero was unable to clear her schedule for counseling commitments with the first co-parenting counselor they selected, requiring that they find a counselor who had Friday appointments. The court suggested that this demonstrated that communication with Brekke was pretty darn low on the priority list for Ms. Eniero. And that was troubling to me. Eniero argues that the superior court accorded too much weight to the testimony of Dr. Wilcox. Dr. Wilcox testified that Brekke wanted to have more open communication with Eniero, but that Eniero wanted limited communication. The superior court found Dr. Wilcox's testimony persuasive regarding the parties' level of cooperation. Eniero argues that a court order stated that communication should primarily be by e-mail, meaning that her desire to limit communication should not have been held against her. But the court, when making the order, stated that e-mail was the form of communication unless both [parties] agree otherwise. Given Eniero's planned move, the superior court reasonably determined that Eniero's reluctance to move beyond e-mail communication could hamper Brekke's relationship with Miranda. [15] Eniero points out that the superior court did not mention that Brekke failed to attend one of the court-mandated counseling sessions. But Dr. Wilcox explained that this was a scheduling error and that Brekke merely arrived one hour later than he should have. The superior court's implicit acceptance of this testimony was within its discretion. Eniero also contends that the superior court's finding that communication with Brekke was a low priority for Eniero was clearly erroneous. Eniero asserts that her job at the time prevented her from having counseling sessions on any day of the week but Friday. Apart from Eniero's failure to provide citations to the transcript that support this claim, the superior court could have reasonably rejected her contention based on Eniero's professed flexibility in her schedule to look after Miranda. This is especially true because Eniero's employment was part-time. Eniero finally claims that there are many examples of Brekke's animosity toward her. She cites Brekke's decision to enroll Miranda in extracurricular activities without telling her, Brekke's failure to provide complete itineraries of his trips with Miranda, Brekke's refusal to approve Miranda's passport application, Brekke's limitation of phone calls between Miranda and Eniero, and Heather Brekke's alteration of Miranda's school registration form removing Eniero's contact information. The superior court discussed many of these issues and largely rejected Eniero's characterization of the testimony. As Brekke points out, the superior court found that Eniero's frequent phone calls with Miranda were stressful and that the steps Brekke took to limit Eniero's phone calls were appropriate. Brekke likewise had an explanation for the changed school registration records; the records were changed for the upcoming school year as a precautionary registration in case Miranda stayed in Anchorage after Eniero moved to Oregon. The superior court also changed the itinerary requirement, explaining that a parent only needed to file an itinerary for air travel. As Brekke argues, there is also evidence suggesting that Eniero failed to facilitate communication between Miranda and Brekke. For example, Brekke testified that phone calls he made to Miranda when she was with Eniero were never returned. The superior court also faulted Eniero for not having Miranda call Brekke during a three-week trip to Lakeview. Finally, based on the weaknesses of Eniero's reasons for the move, the superior court could permissibly infer an unstated, illegitimate motive of limiting Brekke's involvement in Miranda's life. Given the lack of a business agreement, the lack of feasibility studies for any real estate development, and that Eniero's salary was dependent on an air charter business with one airplane that had yet to receive FAA approval or any contracts, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in evaluating Eniero's move.