Matter of S.P. v. J.B.

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed an order awarding the petitioner mother sole legal and physical custody, denying the father’s petition for joint custody, and granting the father unsupervised daytime visitation and FaceTime calls. The court held that the custody determination was supported by the record, including evidence of domestic violence, parental hostility, the mother’s caregiving history, and the father’s lack of stable housing and involvement in the child’s needs. The court also upheld the denial of overnight visitation as consistent with the child’s best interests.

Holdings

1. The award of sole legal and physical custody to the mother was properly based on a sound and substantial basis in the record and on the child's best interests.
2. Joint custody was properly denied because the parties' lack of communication, hostility, and domestic violence made joint custody inappropriate.
3. The trial court properly credited the mother's testimony and discredited aspects of the father's testimony because its credibility determinations had a sound and substantial basis in the record.
4. The determination that overnight visitation would not be in the child's best interests was supported by a sound and substantial basis in the record, while the grant of unsupervised daytime visitation and FaceTime calls was appropriate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the record provided a sound and substantial basis for awarding the mother sole legal and physical custody.
2. Whether joint custody was inappropriate because of the parties' domestic violence, hostility, and inability to communicate.
3. Whether the record supported denying the father overnight visitation while granting unsupervised daytime visitation and regular FaceTime calls.

Disposition

affirmed