Lessard v. Johnson

Citations

• 970 N.W.2d 160
• 2022 ND 32

Syllabus

The effect of a judgment decreeing a divorce is to restore the parties to the state of unmarried persons, but neither party to a divorce may marry except in accordance with the decree of the court granting the divorce. Whether a moving party has established a prima facie case for a modification of primary residential responsibility presents a question of law, reviewed de novo on appeal. A district court's decision whether to grant a protective order limiting discovery is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. A parent moving for permission to relocate has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the move is in the child's best interests. To decide whether relocation is in a child's best interests, the district court applies the four Stout-Hawkinson factors. A district court may award attorney's fees and costs to remedy abuse caused by successive frivolous post-judgment motions.