Court Opinion

ID: 9613348
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 04:16:22.1475+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:03:28.232013
License: Public Domain

*410BROTHERTON, Justice
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion.
In matters of child custody this Court will not disturb the decree of the trial judge unless there is a showing of an abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Stout v. Massie, 140 W.Va. 731, 88 S.E.2d 51 (1955). I see no abuse of discretion in this case.
In Porter v. Porter, 171 W.Va. 157, 298 S.E.2d 130 (1982), we held that where one parent has been awarded custody of a minor child by the court and that parent undertakes a relationship with another adult this constitutes a sufficient change of circumstance to warrant re-examination of child placement but does not raise any per se presumption against continued custody in the parent originally awarded custody. In this case the appellant was sharing living quarters with a man named Carpenter.1 The trial court found that this relationship had a negative effect on the child and changed custody to the father.2
I fear that this Court is letting a new morality blind ourselves to the fact that a new adult moving into the family can create many changes in a child’s life, some of which do not create an atmosphere which is beneficial to the well being of the child. This Court should give the trial judge much discretion in making custody decisions in these circumstances based on the facts of the individual cases and not on blanket rules. I would have yielded to the judge’s discretion in this case and affirmed.
Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that McHUGH, J., joins me in this dissent.

. The appellant claimed that the sharing of living quarters was merely for economic reasons.

. The majority found the sharing of living quarters to be far from convincing evidence that a sexual relationship existed between the appellant and Mr. Carpenter. While not absolute proof, a man and a woman of similar age living together is certainly evidence of a sexual relationship and would at least be strong enough that the trial judge could base an opinion on it.