Opinion ID: 874433
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: The Magistrate's Findings of Fact Were Supported by Substantial and Competent Evidence

Text: Julie contests several of the magistrate's findings relating to her interference with Sydney's relationship with Patrick. She disputes the magistrate's findings that she twice clandestinely moved away from Patrick, concealed her whereabouts from Patrick, and engaged others to help her conceal her location from Patrick. Julie contests the magistrate's findings that she has a negative attitude toward Sydney's relationship with Patrick, does not support their relationship, and is not concerned with the impact a move to Hawaii would have on their relationship. She also disputes the magistrate's related findings that she has denied Patrick's requests for extra time with Sydney, has not shared Sydney's school information with Patrick, and has portrayed Patrick in a negative light. A magistrate's findings of fact will be upheld if they are supported by substantial and competent evidence and are not clearly erroneous. Reed v. Reed, 137 Idaho 53, 56, 44 P.3d 1108, 1111 (2002). Evidence is substantial if a reasonable trier of fact would accept it and rely upon it in determining whether a disputed point of fact has been proven. King v. King, 137 Idaho at 442, 50 P.3d at 457. On appeal, we view the evidence in favor of the trial court's judgment and will uphold the magistrate's findings of fact even if there is conflicting evidence. Nelson v. Nelson, 144 Idaho at 713, 170 P.3d at 378. Additionally, this Court will not make credibility determinations or replace the trial court's findings of fact by reweighing the evidence. Id. The magistrate's findings relating to Julie's prior attempts to interfere with Sydney's relationship with Patrick are supported by substantial and competent evidence. In making his findings, the magistrate relied on two moves Julie made with the children without first informing Patrick. The first move was in 1998, [8] when Julie left Patrick in California and moved with the children to Texas. The second move occurred in 2004 when Julie decided to enroll in an exchange program through Boise State University, in which she intended to spend a semester studying in Hawaii. In neither instance did Julie discuss her plan to move with Patrick or arrange for visitation between Patrick and Sydney. Julie's move to Texas supports the magistrate's findings. Julie points out that Patrick knew about and assisted her in her move to Texas, which demonstrates that the move was not clandestine. Testimony elicited from both Julie and Patrick at trial support Julie's assertion. [9] Nonetheless, the move could still be viewed as evidence of Julie's pattern of interfering with Patrick's relationship with Sydney. Patrick did not find out about Julie's planned move until he arrived at their house and discovered that she had removed most of the family's personal belongings. Moreover, in considering the move, the court's focus was not necessarily on its secretive nature but on Julie's current and prior effort to move Sydney away from Patrick. Julie's move to Hawaii in 2004 also supports the magistrate's findings. The evidence before the court indicated that Julie did not inform Patrick that she was moving with Sydney to Hawaii, that David refused to tell Patrick where Julie and Sydney were, that Patrick had to hire a private investigator to locate Julie and Sydney, and that it took him over two months to find them in Hawaii. Because the facts presented support the magistrate's findings that Julie secretly moved with Sydney to Hawaii and that the move interfered with Patrick's relationship with Sydney, the findings were based on substantial and competent evidence. The magistrate could have reasonably concluded that Julie's prior moves demonstrated a pattern of interference with Patrick's and Sydney's relationship. Similarly, there is substantial and competent evidence to support the magistrate's findings regarding Julie's negative attitude toward Patrick and his relationship with Sydney. Patrick testified that there were times that Julie would not allow him to see Sydney during his visitation hours and that Julie would not normally permit additional visitation. Additionally, Julie made several negative references about Patrick to the court and to Dr. Lipetzky. Julie referred to Patrick as controlling and emotionally abusive. She also stated that Patrick never had a positive relationship with her two older children, drank and drove with Sydney in the car, was verbally abusive, and physically abused her older children. Patrick admitted that he believed in disciplining a child by spanking, however, the magistrate concluded that Patrick's actions did not rise to the level of abuse. None of the other allegations were substantiated by credible testimony. Based on his interactions with Julie, Dr. Lipetzky also concluded that Julie has a negative attitude toward Patrick. Dr. Lipetzky noted that Julie went to lengths to attempt to show Pat[rick] as an unfit parent and that she minimized the positive aspects of Patrick's relationship with the children. Julie also instructed Sydney to report her fear of [Patrick] in her interview with Dr. Lipetzky. For these reasons, Dr. Lipetzky concluded that Patrick would be more likely to foster a positive relationship between Sydney and Julie than Julie would between Patrick and Sydney. Although there is conflicting evidence that suggests that Julie has at times been supportive of Patrick's relationship with Sydney, [10] the magistrate did not abuse his discretion in concluding that Julie interfered with their relationship and had a negative attitude toward Patrick. The magistrate was in the best position to judge the credibility of the witnesses and weigh the conflicting evidence. Enough evidence was presented for a reasonable mind to make the same findings as the magistrate.