Court Opinion

ID: 9948524
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-07 16:04:37.85773+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:30:04.095445
License: Public Domain

NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION.
 UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL
                 AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.

                                    IN THE
             ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS
                                DIVISION ONE

                              In re the Matter of:

                MEAGAN R. STONEY, Petitioner/Appellant,

                                        v.

                  TYLER K. STONEY, Respondent/Appellee.

                           No. 1 CA-CV 23-0130 FC
                                FILED 3-7-2024

          Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County
                          No. FC2015-055051
          The Honorable Theodore Campagnolo, Judge, Retired

            AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART

                                   COUNSEL

Meagan Stoney, New River
Petitioner/Appellant

Tyler Stoney, Tarzaba
Respondent/Appellee
                           STONEY v. STONEY
                           Decision of the Court

                      MEMORANDUM DECISION

Presiding Judge Andrew M. Jacobs delivered the decision of the Court, in
which Judge Jennifer M. Perkins and Judge David D. Weinzweig joined.

J A C O B S, Judge:

¶1            Meagan Stoney (“Mother”) appeals the superior court’s: (1)
denial of her petition requesting sole legal decision-making authority and
sole custody of her daughter, S.S.; (2) order requiring her to attend
individual counseling; (3) award of attorneys’ fees to Tyler Stoney
(“Father”); and (4) order that she pay half of the expense of child
counseling. We reverse the order requiring individual counseling, but
affirm the balance of the court’s order as within its discretion.

                 FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2           Mother and Father divorced in 2016. They have one
biological son, T.S., and a daughter, S.S., who is Mother’s biological
daughter. Their divorce proceeding established that Father is the legal but
not biological parent of S.S. The divorce resulted in Mother and Father
having joint legal decision-making authority as to both children, with
neither having final legal decision-making authority. In the decree, the
court found there was no history of domestic violence or child abuse.

¶3            In 2017, Mother filed a petition seeking sole legal decision-
making authority over both children, requesting supervision of Father’s
parenting time with T.S., and proposing to eliminate Father’s parenting
time with S.S. Mother’s grounds were Father’s alleged threats against her
and his alleged emotional and verbal abuse of Mother and the children. In
April 2020, the court issued a final order denying all of the relief Mother
requested in her 2017 petition.

¶4             After a 2021 incident in which Father grabbed T.S.’s leg to
discipline him, Mother and T.S. obtained an order of protection against
Father. In January 2022, citing that incident, Mother filed a petition seeking
full legal custody of the children. In March 2022, the court held a temporary
orders hearing reaffirming the parents’ joint legal decision-making
authority but awarding Mother final legal decision-making authority. The

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                            STONEY v. STONEY
                            Decision of the Court

court also designated her as the children’s primary residential parent, and
ordered Father’s parenting time with S.S. to be supervised.

¶5             In its November 2022 final order on Mother’s petition, the
court reaffirmed the temporary orders regarding legal decision-making
authority, finding them consistent with the children’s best interests under
A.R.S. §§ 25-403(A) and 25-103(B). The court limited Father’s parenting
time with both children to bi-monthly and supervised weekend visits. The
court awarded Father attorneys’ fees based on the unreasonableness of
Mother’s attempt to relitigate Father’s legal paternity of S.S. and refusing
Father’s settlement offer to make the temporary orders permanent. The
court also ordered both parents to participate in individual counseling,
ordering Mother to participate in counseling at her expense concerning “the
parents’ difficulty in communicating, Mother’s past alienation of the
children, Mother[‘s] subconscious or more subtle alienation of the children,
Mother’s inability to accept that Father is the legal father of [S.S.], and other
issues that may be raised during the counseling.” Lastly, the court ordered
the parties to split the cost of the children’s counseling costs equally.

¶6            Mother timely appealed. We have jurisdiction under A.R.S.
§§ 12-120.21(A)(1) and -2101(A)(1), and Article 6, Section 9 of the Arizona
Constitution.

                                DISCUSSION

¶7             Mother appeals four issues arising from the November 2022
order. First, she appeals the court’s order that Father retain joint legal
decision-making authority and some parenting time. Second, she appeals
the court’s order that she attend individual counseling. Third, she appeals
the court’s award of attorneys’ fees to Father. Fourth, Mother appeals the
court’s order that she pay half of the expense of the children’s counseling.
Father filed no answering brief. We could treat that as a concession of error,
but elect not to because doing so would impact our review of the best
interests of the children. See Hays v. Gama, 205 Ariz. 99, 102-04 ¶¶ 18-23
(2003) (reversing contempt sanctions against mother that impacted best-
interests determination); Hoffman v. Hoffman, 4 Ariz. App. 83, 85 (App. 1966)
(declining to apply court rule making mother’s refusal to file answering
brief a default where doing so impacted best-interests determination).

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                           STONEY v. STONEY
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I.    The Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion By Ordering Joint Legal
      Decision-Making Authority and Allowing Father Some Parenting
      Time.

¶8             We review the superior court’s legal decision-making and
parenting time orders for abuse of discretion. Engstrom v. McCarthy, 243
Ariz. 469, 471 ¶ 4 (App. 2018). We accept the court’s findings of fact absent
clear error. Id. An abuse of discretion occurs when a court commits an error
of law, fails to consider material evidence, or makes a finding without
evidentiary support. Flying Diamond Airpark, LLC v. Meienberg, 215 Ariz. 44,
50 ¶ 27 (App. 2007). Mother argues the court abused its discretion in three
ways.

¶9            First, Mother challenges the court’s refusal to admit a 2013
police report against Father for stalking, and other allegations of domestic
violence from before April 2020. However, the court explained the question
before it in November 2022 was whether circumstances had changed since
the April 2020 ruling leaving joint legal decision-making and custody in
place. The court pointed out the 2013 report was admitted and considered
in the April 2020 ruling. See State v. Spreitz, 190 Ariz. 129, 146 (1997)
(explaining that absent abuse of discretion, reviewing courts will not
“‘second-guess a trial court’s ruling on the admissibility or relevance of
evidence.’”) (quoting State v. Rodriguez, 186 Ariz. 240, 250 (1996)). There
was thus no error in declining to admit evidence predating April 2020, as
that evidence could not establish a change in circumstances since then.

¶10           Second, Mother argues the court erred by not finding a
history of domestic violence, given the court finding such a history in the
March 2022 temporary orders. Mother’s challenge misses the mark for
several reasons. Mother does not cite specific instances in the record of
domestic violence after April 2020. See ARCAP 13(d) (“references to
evidence or other parts of the record must include a citation to the index,
exhibit, or page of a certified transcript . . . where such evidence or other
material appears.”). More substantively, as to the period after April 2020,
the temporary orders make specific reference only to the leg-grabbing
episode as an instance of domestic violence. Thus, it was not an abuse of
discretion for the superior court in its final order to conclude that the
evidence did not support “a history of domestic violence and child abuse.”

¶11           Yet even assuming a history of domestic violence and child
abuse, the superior court performed the analysis A.R.S. § 25-403.03(E)
requires. Father rebutted the presumption against awarding him joint legal
decision-making triggered by the order of protection in favor of T.S. The

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                            STONEY v. STONEY
                            Decision of the Court

court found Father was contrite and had apologized for the leg-grabbing,
completed a parenting class, engaged in no further acts of child abuse or
domestic violence, and was going to engage in further counseling to
buttress his parenting skills. The court also noted the court-appointed
advisor ended the case believing joint legal decision-making, with Mother
having final decision-making authority, was in the children’s best interest.
That observation has added force, given that the temporary orders upon
which Mother relies in this court rested upon that advisor’s previous report.
Given the court’s findings, there was no abuse of discretion in the court
finding Father rebutted the presumption under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(E).

¶12            Third, Mother asserts the superior court erred by not
receiving into evidence a letter from the children’s psychologist. This
assertion is incorrect — the court admitted the letter, but declined to receive
Mother’s testimony about its contents. Finally, Mother offers no authority
to challenge the court’s decision not to hear her testimony about its
contents.

¶13           For these reasons, Mother shows no abuse of discretion in the
court’s orders concerning legal decision-making and parenting time.

II.    The Court Abused Its Discretion by Ordering Mother to
       Participate in Individual Counseling Concerning a Wide Array of
       Subjects.

¶14           Mother objects to the superior court’s order that she
participate in psychological counseling to address a long list of subjects,
including a catch-all: “other issues that may be raised during the
counseling.” Mother’s objection is correct as a matter of law.

¶15            Arizona Rule of Family Law Procedure 95(b) allows a court to
order parties to “engage in behavioral or mental health services, including
counseling and therapeutic interventions.” Ariz. R. Fam. Law P. 95(b). That
power derives from the court’s authority under to seek the opinions of
professionals to guide it in its decisions concerning legal decision-making
and parenting time under A.R.S. § 25-405(B). But once those proceedings
are done, the power expires. See Paul E. v. Courtney F., 246 Ariz. 388, 397 ¶
37 (2019) (“[H]aving decided the legal decision-making and parenting time
issues before it, the court had no statutory power to order Mother to
participate in long-term psychotherapy going forward.”). Accordingly, the
court abused its discretion by ordering Mother to participate in counseling.
For the same reason, the court’s order that Father participate in counseling
is an abuse of discretion.

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                           STONEY v. STONEY
                           Decision of the Court

III.   The Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion by Awarding Father
       Attorneys’ Fees.

¶16           We review an award of attorneys’ fees for abuse of discretion.
MacMillan v. Schwartz, 226 Ariz. 584, 592 ¶ 36 (App. 2011). We review the
court’s findings in the light most favorable to upholding the award and will
affirm if any reasonable evidence in the record supports the decision.
Mitchell v. Mitchell, 152 Ariz. 317, 323 (1987). The family court may award
a party attorneys’ fees after considering the parties’ financial resources and
the reasonableness of their positions. A.R.S. § 25-324.

¶17            The family court properly awarded fees, given the record.
First, the court considered the parties’ financial resources, finding minimal
disparity in the parents’ respective financial positions. Second, the court
found mother acted unreasonably during the course of litigation in multiple
ways. She challenged the court’s 2016 factual finding that Father was S.S.’s
legal parent despite knowing the issue could not be raised. She also failed
to consider Father’s settlement offer to convert the temporary orders into
permanent orders. Mother’s position was unreasonable because the final
orders paralleled those temporary orders, demonstrating the merit of
Father’s request. Because Mother’s unreasonable positions forced Father to
incur more attorneys’ fees preparing for trial, the court properly awarded
those fees. We see no abuse of discretion in these findings.

IV.    The Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion By Apportioning the Cost
       of the Children’s Counseling Equally.

¶18            Mother asserts the court abused its discretion by dividing
financial responsibility for the children’s counseling equally between the
parents, despite dividing medical expenses 75%-25%. Yet the Child
Support Guidelines confer that very discretion upon the court. See Amadore
v. Lifgren, 245 Ariz. 509, 518 ¶ 30 (App. 2018) (finding the Child Support
Guidelines require courts to specify the percentage of uninsured medical
expenses for which each parent is responsible); A.R.S. § 25-320 app.
(“Guidelines”) § X.C.3. Mother offers no argument to suggest an even split
of expenses is an abuse of discretion given the different allocation of a
different expense in the November 2022 order. Nor does she support her
argument with specific reference exhibits or transcripts. See ARCAP 13(d).
For these reasons, we see no abuse of discretion in the equal apportionment
of this expense.

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                          STONEY v. STONEY
                          Decision of the Court

                             CONCLUSION

¶19           For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the superior court’s
order as to legal decision-making authority, parenting time, cost of
children’s counseling and attorneys’ fees, but vacate the order’s provision
requiring Mother and Father to participate in individual counseling.

                          AMY M. WOOD • Clerk of the Court
                          FILED: AA

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