Opinion ID: 1852083
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether the chancellor erred in failing to properly apply the albright factors when he awarded custody of a nine month old female child

Text: ¶ 7. In child custody cases, the best interest of the child must be kept paramount. Sellers v. Sellers, 638 So.2d 481, 485 (Miss.1994). The court considers the following factors in determining the child's best interests: (1) age, health and sex of the child; (2) a determination of the parent that has had the continuity of care prior to the separation; (3) which has the best parenting skills and which has the willingness and capacity to provide primary child care; (4) the employment of the parent and responsibilities of that employment; (5) physical and mental health and age of the parents; (6) emotional ties of parent and child; (7) moral fitness of the parents; (8) the home, school and community record of the child; (9) the preference of the child at the age sufficient to express a preference by law; (10) stability of home environment and employment of each parent and other factors relevant to the parent-child relationship. Albright v. Albright, 437 So.2d 1003, 1005 (Miss.1983). ¶ 8. In awarding custody to Ayars, the chancellor focused on specific testimony which undoubtedly reflected poorly on Powell. The testimony related to two of the Albright factors, parenting skills and stability of the home environment. The opinion does not discuss specifically the remaining factors, including Chayce's age and sex, continuity of care, and the parties' employment. In light of this Court's precedent regarding the entering of specific findings of fact, we hold this failure to be reversible error. ¶ 9. In Hayes v. Rounds, 658 So.2d 863 (Miss.1995), we clearly stated that although the court explicitly acknowledged that the Albright factors apply to the present case, it is not clear whether the court properly applied the factors. Id. at 865. In Hayes this Court further stated, [w]hile we cannot say that the chancellor's conclusion is so lacking in evidentiary support as to be manifest error, in the absence of specific findings we cannot affirm with confidence that the best result has been reached. Id. at 866. We therefore reversed and remanded. Similarly, in Louk v. Louk, 761 So.2d 878 (Miss.2000), and Gray v. Gray, 745 So.2d 234, 240 (Miss.1999), we reversed and remanded for lack of specificity in utilizing the Ferguson factors. Furthermore, in an earlier case, Tricon Metals & Servs., Inc. v. Topp, 516 So.2d 236 (Miss.1987), we held that in cases of any complexity, tried upon facts without jury, court generally should find facts specially and state its conclusions of law thereon .... and failure to make such findings of ultimate fact and conclusions of law will generally be regarded as abuse of discretion Id. at 238-39. ¶ 10. Most recently, this Court decided Owen v. Owen, No.1999-CA-01077-SCT, 2001 WL 204040, ___ So.2d ___ (Miss. Mar. 1, 2001), where we noted that this Court has reversed decisions where, even though the chancellor may have actually applied the Ferguson factors, the chancellor failed to make specific findings on the record. See Kilpatrick v. Kilpatrick, 732 So.2d 876, 880-81 (Miss.1999). In Owen, reversal was essential as there were clearly more Ferguson factors applicable than the one addressed by the chancellor. Although the instant case involves the Albright factors, the paramount concern is no different. Our job as a reviewing Court is only to evaluate whether the chancellor's decision was manifestly erroneous based on a proper analysis of each of the applicable Albright factors. This task becomes futile when chancellors fail to consider and discuss each factor when rendering decisions. ¶ 11. Because we refuse to attempt to correspond the Albright factors to the evidence found within the record, we remand so the chancellor may make findings on each applicable Albright factor. We will, however, review the two factors considered by the chancellor.
¶ 12. The specific incidents relied upon by the chancellor in awarding custody to Ayars are most closely related to Powell's parenting skills. Lilly Jimenez, a former co-worker of Powell's, stated that she had seen Powell's children at work and they looked dirty, and they smelled sour.... Other witnesses testified accordingly. Russell Moore, the manager of the Junior Food Mart convenience store where both Powell and Ayars are employed, explained that he saw Powell's children about four or five times and that on each occasion, they were not just dirty but were ground in dirt. Jessica Utley, who was married to the father of Powell's other children, reluctantly admitted that when the children return from Powell's, they are often dirty. Ayars's sister, who saw Chayce only once, stated that she had a lot of dirt colored matter behind her ears and between her ... we took off one of her shoes, and she had some between her toes, and her fingernails were pretty dirty. Finally, Ayars's girlfriend, Jennifer Cooley, claimed that when Powell delivered Chayce to Ayars's apartment for weekend visits, the child's fingernails were very long, and she had lots of dirt under her fingernails. Her toenails would be very long. There was lots of dirt and grime between her toenails ... ¶ 13. Jimenez further testified that on one occasion, Powell's mother, who babysits Chayce and Powell's two older children while Powell is at work, left Chayce in the car while she entered the bank. Additionally, Moore noted that on one occasion, Powell brought her children with her to work. When he informed her that they could not remain inside the store, she took them outside, presumably, he stated, to leave them in the car while she worked her ten-hour shift. Jessica Utley noted that Powell cusses the children and cusses in front of them. She qualified her remarks, noting that she had not been around Powell for approximately two years. However, Ayars also stated Powell curses around her children. Finally, Ayars noted that on each of his visits to Powell's trailer, there were six people residing in it, including Powell's uncle, mother, and brother. ¶ 14. There is testimony that Powell is not as neglectful as Ayars alleges. James Utley, the father of Powell's older children, testified that Powell was a good parent. His wife testified accordingly. She claimed Powell's older daughter suffered breathing problems until she moved in with her mother and that since she began living with Powell, the daughter's breathing problems have vanished. Leigh Ann Thurman, the girlfriend of Powell's brother, testified that Powell's children are not dirty. She further described activities in which Powell and her children participate, including swimming, riding four wheelers, and canoeing. In addition, Powell's mother stated that her daughter is a good parent and participates in many activities with her children. Finally, Powell denied that her children are dirty and that she is a bad parent. ¶ 15. Neither party presented much evidence as to Ayars's parenting skills. Powell's cousin testified that on one occasion, Ayars became hostile and handed Chayce to her mother in an angry manner. Powell refused to admit that Ayars was a good father and in fact stated her daughter was in danger when she visited Ayars. Powell's mother described Ayars as aggressive and controlling but related no specific examples of such conduct. ¶ 16. Lilly Jimenez, however, stated Ayars was a good father who was sometimes even over protective of his daughter. Moreover, the program coordinator at the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, stated that Ayars successfully completed a parenting class. As such, this factor weighs in favor of Ayars, but may be reviewed on remand.
¶ 17. In his opinion, the chancellor made express findings as to this Albright factor. He stated [i]t concerns me that apparently in Mitzi's home there is a history of people coming and going. They are relatives. I understand all that, but there's a lot of instability in that environment.... Though Powell denied that anyone other than her mother and two daughters lived with her at the trial, Ayars noted that when he visited the trailer, there were up to six people living there, including Powell's uncle and brother. Ayars testified that Powell, her mother, Powell's older daughter, and Chayce shared one bed. ¶ 18. The chancellor also focused on the sewage pit near Powell's trailer. He remarked, if we accomplished anything in this case, I guess maybe we got the hole in the yard fixed where the sewer was. I'm not sure about that, but there's been a lot of testimony about that. Of course, that relates to the home environment that this child would be living in.... Several witnesses testified about the large pit of open sewage located approximately ten feet from Powell's trailer. Ayars explained there was a five foot hole ten foot away from the door on the outside of the trailer, that was covered up with a car hood at one time. He noted that the hole contained sewage and was below ground level with no barriers around it. Chris Eastburn, a process server, stated there's a looked like a four by four open pit of black sludge.... He went on to note that there was a repulsive odor emanating from the pit. However, Eastburn acknowledged that an individual, later identified as Powell's uncle, informed him he was in the process of working on my pit. Ayars's sister also testified that the open sewer was covered by a car hood when she saw it and that it smelled offensive. The pit has been repaired, but the chancellor viewed it as indicative of conditions at Powell's residence. ¶ 19. Moreover, witnesses testified that the area surrounding the trailer was unkempt. Ayars described the trailer as follows, [t]he condition of the trailer from outside is reasonable ... It has a good appearance from the outside. The area around the trailer is quite messy.... Appliances, junk is the best term that I can use, is scattered throughout. There's two older trailers, that I do believe are her mother's and her uncle's, that are nearby that are unlivable as far as I am concerned.... Chris Eastburn testified accordingly, noting [i]t looks like it has never been mowed. Overgrown. I would [not] have even known somebody lived there had not their car parked there. And there was at least three junk cars kind of pushed off to the side. It was like been abandoned and brush grown around to the top of the windows and what have you.... He did note that the inside of the trailer was orderly but dirty, explaining the carpet was matted and dirty. Ayars's sister offered a similar description, there was a lot of trash and old appliances out in the yard. I noticed when we went up to the front door there was an open sewer right to the left as you walk in the front door, and it had an old rusty hood on the front laying over it. She also described the odor of animal waste in the house which she presumed emanated from the large number of puppies living under the trailer. ¶ 20. Powell contended that there were no appliances in front of her trailer but rather were closer to her uncle's trailer, and she denied that any animals were living in her home. Powell explained at trial that as of the previous Saturday, the pit had been repaired. She stated that a concrete lid had been placed over it and there were plans to fill it in with dirt. Other witnesses confirmed that the pit had been covered. Christopher Jennings, Powell's cousin, testified the pit had been covered and that the inside of Powell's trailer was clean. Other witnesses offered similar testimony. Powell's mother explained the origins of the open pit, stating [t]hat pit is there because first of all there was a house there many years ago that belonged to my grandmother. We dug that pit there, and it kind of got lost off after we destroyed the house, and so a friend came by one day and rolled over it with the car, and it broke in two. And so we have been working on it to get it back like it is suppose to be which it's covered. ¶ 21. Scant evidence was presented at trial regarding the stability of the home environment at Ayars's apartment. He stated he has a two-bedroom apartment where Chayce has her own bedroom. Photographs of the bedroom were admitted into evidence. ¶ 22. These two factors, parenting skills and stability of the home environment, were the only two factors fully analyzed by the chancellor on the record. While those factors appear to weigh in favor of Ayars, we as a reviewing court cannot be secure in affirming or reversing a case on the issue of child custody until we are satisfied that the evidence has been properly weighed according the specific guidelines set forth in Albright.