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HomeMy WebLinkAbout98-02569 I I I I ! ') I o '" " \I ~ .J . ~ ~ ~ I , ... u ~ 1:1 d '- ~ "- ~\c '\", "- T. , \ , \ i I I I I I i I " / f 'J " I ~/. ,I' ...-J "" \ I I ( I ~ \! ,,,' - . :l u , DENA MARSEAN DICKERSON, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA . ~ : NO. 98- ,U"1 CIVIL TERM GEORGE RAYMOND DICKERSON, : CIVIL ACTION - CUSTODY Defendant CUSTODY PRE. TRIAL MEMORANDUM I. .EACJJJA~ ISSUES The parties In this case, Plaintiff Dena Marsean Dickerson and Defendant George Raymond Dickerson, are married and are the natural parents of Elisha Renay Dickerson, born November 3, 1994. The parties separated while stationed together In Hawaii due to the Defendant's physical abuse of the Plaintiff, A Protection of Abuse Act Order was Issued in Hawaii. The Plaintiff was transferred to Carlisle Barracks and lives in government quarters at Stanwyx Circle. The Defendant returned after being discharged from the Army for his actions of physical abuse of the Plaintiff, Plaintiff filed a Custody Complaint In the Spring of 199B. As a result of the conciliation conference, an Order was entered stating the periods of the father's temporary physical custody. The Defendant Is a very dictatorial person who tries to Impose his will upon the Plaintiff, According to the terms of the Custody Order, Defendant was to have the child during the summer with the mother having one weekend period of visitation. Without any prior notice to the mother, the Defendant failed to show up at the rendezvous point, half way between Philadelphia and Carlisle for the mother's weekend visitation. Plaintiff's counsel wrote to Defendant's counsel trying to work out the situation without a contempt hearing. Defendant's counsel wrote a letter to the Plaintiff's attorney stating that the father would bring the child back one week early to make up for his unilateral denial of her weekend, Even though Plaintiff followed the Agreement spelled out by Defendant's attorney, Plaintiff filed this Petition for Contempt for that week that she had the child, A Custody Conciliation was heard on the contempt Issue. The Plaintiff raised her concerns about the aggressive nature of the Defendant. She related an Incident that she was Informed by the Defendant's sister and brother-In-law as to Defendant's DElNA MARSEAN DICKERSON, . IN ~'HE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF . Plaintiff/Respondent . CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA . . . vs. . NO. 98-2569 CIVIL ~'ERM . . . GEORGE RAYMOND DICKERSON, . CIVIL AC'rION - LAW . Defendant/Petitioner : CUSTODY P1U~ JUDGE: F.dvar:d E. Guido CUS'roDY ~~TI(w SlM!ARy REPm1' IN ACaliIDANcE WITII ClJoIIl.BRLlIND <ntft'Y RULE OF CIVIL PROCIsOORE 1915.3-8, the undersigned Custody Conciliator submits the fOllowing report: 1. ~'he pertinent information concerning the Child who is the subject of this litigation is as follows: Olild 's Name Date of Birth In CUstody of Mothet' Elil'ha Renay Dickerson Novembet- 13, 1994 2. A Conciliation Conference 'lias held on October 8, 1998, with the following individuals in attendance: The Mother, Dena Marsean Nckt!rson, with her cOlmsel, Roger .1. MUlderig, Esquire, and the Fathel:', C~rge Raymond DiCkerson, with his counsel, James J. Kayer, Esquire. 3. The Father filed this Petition for Contempt seeking, among other things, makeup time which the F'ather alleged that he had missed due to the Mother's failure to comply with the existing Custody Order dated June 24, 1998. At the Conference, the Mother indicated that she was seeking modification of the same Order, in an effort to ensure that the Father's periods of custody are at least supervised. ~'he parties were not able to I:'osolve the custQdy issues at the Conference and it will be necessary to schedule a Hearing in this matter. 4. The Father's position on custody is as follows: The Fathel:' indicated that the pat-ties had modified the cllstody arrangement by oral agreement during the SUfllT1Ell:' but that the Mother had failed to honor the parties' agreement as modified, which resulted in the Father losing hi,~ Hnal week of custody with the Child at the end of the SU/TITlE!r. The Fathel:' also stated that the Mother denied him his period of weekend custody undel:' the Order over the weekend irrmodiately preCeding the Conciliation Conference. The Father denies the Mother's allegations with respect to the incident upon which the Mother basis her request fol:' supervised partial custody for the Father. 5. believes Father's The Mothel:"s position on custody is as follows: The Mothel:' the existing Custody Order should be modified to require that the periods of custody are supervised. The Mother bases this request DENA MARBEAN DICKERSON, plaintiff IN THE COURT 01" COMMoN PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA vs. NO. 98-2569 CIVIL TERM GEORGE RAYMOND DICKERSON, Defendant CIVIL ACTION - LAW : CUSTODY au>BR OF <XXlRT "\~~ - AND tUf, this ..c day of U tllJ~ consideration of the attac ed CustWj conciliation Report, and directed as follows: , 1998, upon it is ordered 1. The Mother, Dena Marsean Dickerson, and the Father, George Raymond Dickerson, shall have shared legal custody of Elisha Renay Dickerson, born November 13, 1994. Fach parent shall have an equal right, to be exercised jointly with the other parent, to make all majot' non-emergency decisions affecting the Child's general well-being including, but not limited to, all decisions regardin<) her health, education and religion. 2. The Mother shall have primary physical custody of the Child. 3. The Father shall transfer custody of the Child to t.he Mother on Friday, June 19, 1998 at 6:30 p.m. 4. During the school year and in June each year, the Father shall have custody of the Child on the first weekend of each month from Friday at 6:30 p.m. Imtil Sunday at 6:30 p.m. 5. ouring the .~urrmer school vacation, the Father shall havll custody of the Child each year from July 1 through August. 15th. During that. period, the Mother shall have custody of the Child during the third weekend in July from Friday at 6:30 p.m. through Sunday at 6:30 p.m. 6. The Father. shall have custody of the Child every year over the Christmas school break, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on the day after school lets out until 6:30 p.m. on the day before school resumes in January. 7. The Mother shall have custody of the Child every year over the Thanksgiving school break, Easter school break, Labor Day and Memorial Day. In the event the Easter holiday falls on the Father's regularly scheduled weekend, the parties shall cooperate to schedule a substitute weekend period of custody in the same month for the Father. 8. The parties shall exchange custody of the Child (:It zinn' s Diner off the Pennsylvania Turnpi.ke which is approximately half way between the parties' residences unless the parties agree to a different public place for custody exchanges. In the event the Father is working during the sch'~duled time of exchange, another family ment>er may receive or transfer. \"\\YJ'I'()'I':\:\C\.~ or .,' " " " ! 'in\'! nO 1\\" ') I ':J,r1 1,,1' ,.,.\ f\l\ q:;, \ I ~, I' I , 1 f , I r'\.l', ,,' ,..,\,{ Vi} : ")\" FE:,ri\L:YL\'f,-r\'.l', ' " 7, IJetltiuner trllvelled to the llIutuully ugreed exchunge point (Zinn's Dlnnel') ut the uppointed tillle on Sunduy, August 9, 1998. Tlw Respondent did not uppcar with the child at the exchunge point lit IIny tlllle. 8. Respondent hils IIttclllpted to Justify her refusal to tum custody over hased upon an appurentmisconnnunlcatlon tllllt existed between the pat1ies regurding the Respondent's originally scheduled weekend of custody that wus scheduled for July. At that time, despite the fact that the parties had muched an orulagnlelllent modifying the custody Order, the Respondent stllJ uppeured ut Zlun's Diner on the third Friday on July anticipating u custody transfer thut did not occur. 9. Respondent's refusal to ullow the chlld to return to the Petitioner has resulted in a significant loss of time for the Petitioner with his child. 10. Respondent's refusul to allow the child's return to the Petitioner was willful and malicious. II. Respondent's threat to discontinue any further visits between father and child has caused the father and the child significant emotional distress. 12. Respondent's actions are not In the best Interest of the child. WHEREFORE, the Petitioner respectfully requests this Honorable Court 10 grant the following relief: a. Provide make-up time to the father which shall occur over the TIlanksglvlng school break; b. To require the Respondent to pay Petitioner's attorney's fees that are associated With the filing and presentation of this Petition for Contempt; c. To issue an admonition to the Respondent to refrain from further such disruptive conduct; and DENA MARSEAN DICKERSON, Plalnllff : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : NO. 98- ",.51,1 CIVIL TERM GEORGE RAYMOND DICKERSON, : CIVIL ACTION - CUSTODY Defendant ,CUSTODY PRE.TRIAL MEMORANDUM I. FACTUAL ISSUES The parties in this case, Plaintiff Dena Marsean Dickerson and Defendant George Raymond Dickerson, are married and are the natural parents of Elisha Renay Dickerson, born November 3, 1994. The parties separated while stationed together In Hawaii due to the Defendant's physical abuse of the Plaintiff. A Protection of Abuse Act Order was issued In HawaiI. The Plaintiff was transferred to Carlisle Barracks and lives In government quarters at Stanwyx Circle. The Defendant returned after being discharged from the Army for his actions of physical abuse of the Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed a Custody Complaint in the Spring of 1998. As a result of the conciliation conference, an Order was entered stating the periods of the father's temporary physical custody. The Defendant is a very dictatorial person who tries to impose his will upon the Plaintiff. According to the terms of the Custody Order, Defendant was to have the child during the summer with the mother having one weekend period of visitation. Without any prior notice to the mother, the Defendant failed to show up at the rendezvous point, half way between Philadelphia and Carlisle for the mother's weekend visitation. Plaintiffs counsel wrote to Defendant's counsel trying to work out the situation without a contempt hearing. Defendant's counsel wrote a letter to the Plaintiffs attorney slating that the father would bring the child back one week early to make up for his unilateral denial of her weekend. Even though Plaintiff followed the Agreement spelled out by Defendant's attorney, Plaintiff filed this Petition for Contempt for that week that she had the child. A Custody Conciliation was heard on the contempt Issue. The Plaintiff raised her concerns about the aggressive nature of the Defendant. She related an incident that she was informed by the Defendant's sister and brother-in-law as to Defendant's ~ 'i,'.::/::" ", ,,'~ , '~K.ve',..'nd Arown ' .";t~q:T,~'f,;. i~-'~ ~ :~':~C', - _.;':'" 1.'.' -;'~-';__':"~':' ft~ ;_,,_~'_-:-__-! ;""\r'\: .:;;::\;.APJOloIq/OI'ji,\'t\.....~ ;'. ",i,~E \!"'Li\_',!_td_'-,-_ _-_~-"'_"'"-' 'c" I' ,'Jr__ "_L_'H.. ~~"~1IrI~" J ,; ; '. "--'--"r -"'. , , ", "",,',' '~"".;':l.\~~. ,.'"~''.',,,~', ffl~"!'~lt~;;'1!~'iI; p:J 'l:;'I :~:'f,~~1~.1, rt,~~~iJ;'\Ae.~:t~J~ '(:"L_' tl use. 11w allill\osity thnt exists hetwl.clI the pali11.s illitiully Illude it quite difficult for the Pllrtil'S to rmlch an agn.elllcllt rcgurding cuslody, To their credit, the parties Wl.re aoll' to draft all agrcl.llwnt with the assislalH:l' of their eoullsd alld till' custody conciliator, However, sillce thai agrel.nlent went into effecl, the Defelldallt has l.ncountered difficulties ill secillg his daughtcl'. As lkscrihed ill Ilw Contelllpt Petition filcd hy the Defendant on Augusl 14, 1998, the 111ther was denied seeing the l:hild in August during his prospective periods of physical custody, The Jlarties commullieated challges initially through thdl' counscland then directly over the pholle, However, the net result of the Plainliffs unilateralactiolls were to dCIlY Ilw father his access to the child at the close of the summer. What filii her cOllcefl1ed the t11ther was the oral represelltation thllt he would "never get to see his daughter ugain". It was due to this explicit tlm'at that the Defendant felt il necessary to file the instunt Contl'mpt Petition. After the filing of the Contempt Petition, it is interesting to note that the Plailltiff also ullilaterally withheld the father's ill Octohm' visitation as well, As a result of the appurent unfortunute luck In their ability to commullicatl. with one another, the COllli amellded its previolls Order on October 19, 1998 requirillg that all future modificatious of the existing custody order be dOlle ill writillg alld signed by both patties. The Plaintiff ill the COllciliation COllferellce raised concel'lls regardillg Ihe falher's "violent history" alld made referellce to all illcidellt that she wus aware of ill the reCl'llt past collcernillg the father's urrest OIlUII assault charge. The fath'lr c1'.lIies that any such arrest ()I' assault charge occurred. In facl, the father hdieves Ihat the incidellt to which the mother is refelTiug wus au incident in which the father was the victim of IItll'lllpted physiculunuse aud assuult. DUl. to these eoncel'llS that II", mother has expresscd, it is allticipall,d that she will bl' seeking all Order requirillg some form of supervision for the futher's periods of physical custody with the child. Of p1ll11culal' illlJ!ol1ance is IIIl' fact Ihllt Ilw IIlothm' at '10 tlllll' dllrlllg tlw Coucillallon Conll'rellcl' or OIl any otlwr tillle has alll,ged any ahusl' 01' Ill'glecl dirccted . spl,cifically at till' l:hild eillll,r by thl' father or by anyone else wlll'n thl' child is hi Ihe tiillwr's cuslody. The fatlwr sel,ks time with Ihe child to IIll1kl, nJl li)r the absences itnposed upon hllll unilatc.rally by the Plaintiff. This would Include an addllional weckeud allhe cOllvl,nlel\(:e of IIIl' father as well as an additional 0111' (I) week period at thc convenience of Ihe falher either to be schcdnll,d during Ihe child's spring break 01' as an additional week during the slnnmer. The tilt her also seeks to bc I'ellllbul'sed for his allorney's fees incnrred In plll'sulug Ihe Contclllpl Pl,tllion against the Plaintiff. II, BRIEF PROCEDURAL HISTORY The Plaintiff iullially filed a Petition for Custody in 1998 and as a result of tlUlt Petillon, a Conciliation Conference was schednled for June II, 1998 befol'l' Dawn SundilY, Custody Conciliator. The part illS allended the Conciliation Conference and as a resnlt of that confllrence, the Court issued an Order dated June 24, 1998 which memorialized the agreement reilched by the parties at the Conciliator's office. On August 14, 1998, the Defendant filed his Petition for Contl'llIpt with this coUlt A Conciliation CoufCl'ence was iullially sclll'dnled for Ihe parlles on SepTelllber D, 1998, Ihis 1IIi1llel' was postponed until October 8, 199R. The parties were unable to resolve their dlffcrcncl's at the tlnw of that conferencl" Accordingly, this Honorable Court issued an Order on Octobcr 19, 1998 ,:chlldullng this mailer for a heilring before this Honorable Court on Declll11bCl' ~, 1998 at I: 15 p.l11. DENA MARSEAN DICKERSON, Plaintiff, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 98- .1S'/8 CIVIL TERM CIVIL ACTION - CUSTODY v. GEORGE RAYMOND DICKERSON, Defendant ORDER Of..QQURT AND NOW, this -J.L day of.~998, upon consideration of the attached Complaint, It Is hereby directed that the parties and their respective counsel appear before ~ ''),'' 11\.\\['1 \ t:;-.sy.(., the conciliator, at:C:/'1 "'-.J '110 If" '--~_\ 'I \-.A,n \\u\t <...~~) fA __ on the \ \ day of -.in~, , 1998, at _~l', DO I\.M, for a pre.Aearing Custody Conference. At such Conference, an effort will be made to resolve the Issues In dispute; or If this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the issues to be heard by the Court, and to enter Into a temporary order. Failure to appear at the Conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order. FOR THE COURl, By: cl'.'ifH\~~. Custody Conciliator . , ~n~ The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County is required by law to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. For Information about acoesslble facilities and reasonable accommodations available to disabled individuals having business before the Court, please contact our offioe, All arrangements must be made at least 72 hours prior to any hearing or business before the Court. You must attend the scheduled conference or hearing. YOU SHOUL.D TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Cumberland County Bar Association 2 Liberty Avenue Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 249.3166 ;, ,\! 1" L f' ~; ! \. !. t t' Mother & Father 1821 NW 82nd Street Lawton, Oklahoma Birth to October, 1995 6. The natural mother of the child Is Plaintiff, Dena Marsean Dickerson 7, The natural father of the child Is Defendant, George Raymond Dickerson 8, The Plaintiff has not participated as a party or in any other capacity, In other litigation concerning the custody of the child in this or any other court, 9, Plaintiff has no Information of a custody proceeding concerning the child pending In a court of this Commonwealth. 10. The best Interests and permanent welfare of the child will be served by granting the relief requested because the Plaintiff Is the primary care giver with respect to the child. 11. Each parent whose parental rights to the child have not been terminated and the person who has physical custody of the child have been named as parties to this action. No other persons are known to have or claim to have any right to custody ot' visitation of the child other than the parties to this action, WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests your Honorable Court Respectfully submitted, TURO LAW OFFICES ! i I Il / . 'j /" 6' I h\ I 1 Data ,'! , '" J ' ;, / / ("--'.-'./ _or- "~I. '. .. ' , ( i'( ,. " I. kJ.J....t. 1,. Robert J. 'Mulderlg, Esquire 32 South Bedford Street Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 245-9688 Attorney for Plaintiff '''- ..:t' " r[. ,..:J r: roc: I' Sl~:;(.;:: .., I~ -I (i,: ~. ~:iin [rl" I n IiI ~:: I . , ..~~ 1,1-. !T' " j ("I (;1\ (j - , . 1_'-- I.i J -I i'l ~ t (i ruR G5 R~ 2 I ~ ~ Q f'( --I) 1h '~00.) o' ~ y ~ ,,>. \'1 r,: b; ..S In '" .. !i:j r"'\ 1,1./::-..; C"J ~S h~C "'-, L'. ..J (t, ..', C),' ( :1 ~~j ,e ,'-, '. (;) 6~1f>i , . ~I ~'~: r.J[ . .. .~.. 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