Court Opinion

ID: 9854916
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:16:44.626059+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:36.125647
License: Public Domain

Stephan, L,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. I agree with the conclusion of the trial court and the majority that Rebecca established a legitimate reason for relocation through the evidence of Clayton’s enhanced employment opportunities in Huron, South Dakota. I also agree with the majority that Rebecca was not required to consult with Chadd before Clayton could consider out-of-state employment and that the evidence does not support a conclusion that she had actually relocated the child to South Dakota at the time of the hearing on her request to do so. I also agree with the majority that there is no evidence of bad faith on the part of Rebecca. That said, I cannot agree that the district court abused its discretion in denying her request to remove the child from this state.
The crux of my position was aptly stated by the trial judge as a preface to his ruling from the bench when he remarked, “Well, this is a painfully close case.” My review of the record leads me to precisely the same conclusion. The record discloses two fit, loving, and devoted parents. Both have played active roles in their daughter’s life, and each recognizes the importance of the other in her continuing development. Were either of the parties lesser parents, this would be an easier case to judge. However, *248the admirable qualities exhibited by each parent make it an extremely difficult one.
Because a legitimate reason for the relocation was established, the case turns on the “best interests of the child” analysis. Citing Vogel v. Vogel, 262 Neb. 1030, 637 N.W.2d 611 (2002), the majority frames the issue as whether the custodial parent can “demonstrate that it is in the child’s best interests to continue living with him or her.” (Emphasis supplied.) While this is an accurate statement of what we said in Vogel and other cases, I think it misstates the “best interests” issue under the facts of this case. Rebecca testified that if she is not granted permission to relocate to South Dakota, she and her new family would live in Nebraska with the child. At trial, Chadd only requested that the court deny Rebecca leave to relocate the child and did not ask the court to award custody to him. Thus, the child will continue to live with Rebecca whether or not Rebecca is given leave to relocate. The issue as presented to the district court was whether, on the basis of all relevant factors, it is in the best interests of the child to move to South Dakota with Rebecca or continue residing with Rebecca in Nebraska. The guardian ad litem correctly perceived this issue in arriving at his recommendation that the application for relocation be disallowed. The expert who testified on behalf of Rebecca seems to have missed the point when he opined that it would be in the best interests of the child “to move to South Dakota and maintain contact with her — primary contact with her custodial parent, her mother.” This opinion ignores the fact that the child will have “primary contact” with Rebecca as the custodial parent regardless of whether she lives in Nebraska or South Dakota. The continuing integrity of the maternal bond is simply not an issue in this case.
As I read the record, there is credible evidence on each side of the issue. The move to South Dakota holds the promise of certain benefits to the child in that she would live in a larger house and stands to benefit in other ways from the economic opportunities anticipated by Clayton in his new employment. Also, if such opportunities are realized, Rebecca would be able to stay home with her children instead of working to supplement the family income, an arrangement which she and her expert witness believe will be beneficial to the child. It is also true that *249the distance between Omaha and Huron, South Dakota, is not so great that it would absolutely preclude regular visitation; as the majority correctly notes, this distance is no greater than some intrastate relocations which would not require court approval.
On the other hand, the guardian ad litem for the child recommended that the court not allow the relocation because the potential benefits to the child did not outweigh the negative effect of separation from Chadd. Rebecca admitted that the move would make it virtually impossible for Chadd to participate in his daughter’s school activities. She also admitted that under the biweekly visitation schedule she proposed in the event of relocation, her daughter would spend 9 hours every other weekend traveling by automobile between Rebecca’s home in South Dakota and Chadd’s home in Nebraska. The evidence also establishes that the child’s extended family resides in Nebraska.
Based upon my de novo review of the record, I would conclude that in taking their respective positions in this case, each parent is sincerely motivated by what he or she genuinely believes to be in the best interests of their child. The proposed relocation would improve the child’s quality of life in some respects as a result of the improved economic opportunities for Clayton and Rebecca’s plan to stay home with her children, but the child’s quality of life would be negatively impacted by the long biweekly commute for visitation and the diminished opportunity for interaction with her extended family. While the relocation would not completely eliminate the opportunity for regular visitation by Chadd, it would drastically alter the nature and frequency of the visitation he has exercised to date. Weighing these factors in order to determine whether to permit Rebecca to relocate with the child is a difficult task. Where, as in this case, there are no absolutes and no clearly right or clearly wrong answers, it is particularly important to bear in mind that our standard of review requires an appellate court to give deference to the discretion of the trial judge, who observed the demeanor of the witnesses as he or she heard their testimony. In order to reverse on the basis of an abuse of discretion, we must be able to state that the decision of the district court is untenable and unfairly deprives a litigant of a substantial right or a just result. I cannot reach that conclusion on this record. Finding no abuse of discretion, I would affirm.