This case involves a high-conflict family law dispute over a 13-year-old child.
The respondent mother unilaterally withheld the child from the applicant father, violating a final parenting order for an alternating week-about schedule, and subsequently filed a motion to change seeking sole decision-making.
The father brought a motion for contempt and enforcement of the existing order.
The court found that the mother knowingly refused to comply with the order and attempted to create a new status quo.
While the elements of contempt were met, the court opted for other avenues to ensure compliance.
The mother failed to prove a material and compelling change in circumstances to justify a temporary variation of the final order.
The court ordered a gradual reintroduction of the alternating week-about schedule, emphasizing that the mother's unilateral actions had negatively impacted the child's mental health and relationship with the father.
