Gabriella Deokaran

The appellant mother brought a motion for contempt against the respondent father, alleging he breached an interim access order by failing to provide her with access to their child on two weekends.

The court found that while the order was clear and the respondent had knowledge of it, the appellant failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the respondent intentionally breached the order, as the missed visits resulted from a severe communication breakdown between the parties and counsel, compounded by the appellant's COVID-19 self-isolation.

The motion for contempt was dismissed, make-up access time was ordered, and costs were awarded to the respondent.

The plaintiff requested authorization via teleconference to sign back an offer to purchase a disputed property.

The property was listed at $249,000 and an offer of $180,000 was received.

The plaintiff sought to counteroffer at $225,000 without disclosing the offeror's identity to the defendant, fearing interference.

The court authorized the plaintiff to sign back the offer at $225,000 or lower, provided that any resulting agreement of purchase and sale remains subject to court approval where the purchaser's identity must be disclosed.

The mother applied for sole custody of the parties' two children, retroactive child support, and retroactive spousal support.

The father also sought sole custody, arguing the mother relied too heavily on his parents for childcare.

The court found the mother had been the primary caregiver and had adequate parenting skills, while the father had a history of domestic violence and had underpaid child support.

The court granted sole custody to the mother, but allowed the father unsupervised access, finding his recreational marijuana use did not pose a risk to the children.

The father was ordered to pay retroactive child support of $6,053.00 and a lump sum retroactive spousal support payment of $7,500.00.