Lehane v. Murray

Citations

• 215 Conn. App. 305

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court, challenging certain postjudgment orders of the trial court. Under the parties' separation agreement, which had been incorporated into the dissolution judgment, the parties shared joint legal custody of their minor child, who resided primarily with the plaintiff, and exercised a two week, rotating parenting plan. The separation agreement also provided the plaintiff with a nonmodifiable right to claim the child as a dependent for income tax purposes. Within months of the marital dissolution, the parties embarked on three years of extensive litigation pertaining to custody of and visitation with the child, during which each party filed motions seeking sole custody of the child. After a fifteen day hearing, the trial court found, inter alia, that the plaintiff had a defiant and manipulative disposition, and had misrepresented facts and violated and made up court orders to support her long-standing desire to undermine the defendant's relationship with the child. The court further found that, although the defendant willingly encouraged the mother-child relationship, the plaintiff wilfully denied the defendant access to the child and repeatedly made insulting refer- ences about the defendant, which the child understood, as well as unsub- stantiated complaints to the police and to the Department of Children and Families. The court denied the plaintiff's motion and granted the defendant's motion, awarding him, inter alia, sole physical custody of the child. The court's order also set a visitation schedule for the plaintiff, and permitted the defendant to alter, change or modify that schedule and the location, dates and times the parties would exchange the child. The court further ordered the plaintiff to undergo a psychological evalua- tion and to provide a copy of the evaluation to the defendant. Held: 1. The trial court properly exercised its decision-making authority, p