Boisvert v. Gavis

Citations

• 210 A.3d 1
• 332 Conn. 115

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, the maternal grandparents of the defendant father's minor child, B, filed, in the trial court, a petition for visitation with B pursuant to statute (§ 46b-59). The defendant had been granted custody of B following the death of B's mother, before which the plaintiffs enjoyed a significant relationship with B and contributed meaningfully to his care. The defendant unilaterally terminated visitation shortly after the mother's death, contending that the plaintiffs did not abide by his wishes with respect to B's care during B's time with them, and also because he believed that the plaintiffs were seeking to have him incarcerated so that they could be awarded custody of B. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court granted the plaintiffs' petition, finding that the plaintiffs had a parent-like relationship with B and that the denial of visitation would cause B real and significant harm, and the defendant appealed. Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion seeking a no contact order between B and his maternal aunt, R, who was living with B's maternal grandmother at the time. The court denied the motion, and the defendant, upon certification by the Chief Justice pursuant to statute (§ 52-265a) that a matter of substantial public interest was involved, filed an appeal from the denial of the motion, which was consolidated with his direct appeal. While the defendant's consolidated appeals were pending, the defendant offered the plaintiffs visitation with B in an amount that was substantially less than what the trial court had pre- viously ordered in conjunction with the plaintiffs' petition. In conjunc- tion with his offer, the defendant filed a motion to open and to terminate visitation, contending that the trial court was divested of subject matter jurisdiction in light of his offer, which the trial court denied. Meanwhile, the defendant discontinued B's visitation with the plaintiffs, and the plaintiffs moved for contempt.. The court found the defendan