Opinion ID: 1852083
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Stability of Home Environment

Text: ¶ 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.