The respondent father brought a contempt motion in a family law matter alleging that the mother breached a prior final custody order by moving the child to another municipality, enrolling the child in a new school without consultation, and failing to provide the required 60 days’ notice of relocation.
The court held that reconciliation between the parties did not terminate or invalidate the existing court order, which remained in force until varied by a further order.
The court found the mother deliberately and wilfully breached the order beyond a reasonable doubt by relocating and altering custody-related decisions unilaterally despite the father’s objections.
As a remedy, the court ordered the child returned to the original jurisdiction and restored the prior access arrangement pending any motion to change.
