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Home My WebLink About06-6154 TERI BOWER, v Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL VANIA NO. 2006 - t /0,-/ CIVIL ACTION _ LA W MICHAEL BOWER, Defendant IN CUSTODY PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT FOR CUSTODY 1 . Plaintiff is T eri Bower, an adult individual currently residing at 16 Quarry Hill Road, Newville, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 2. Defendant is Michael Bower, an adult individual currently at 233 Mulbeny Street, Newport, Perry County, Pennsylvania. 3. Plaintiff seeks primary physical custody of the child, Asher Bower (hereinafter "Asher'), who was born on December 8,2002. The child Was born in wedlock. Logan Bower is also a child of Michael Bower and T eri Bower. At this point, Plaintiffis not seeking primary physical custody of Logan Bower, just Asher. 4. Asher has resided with the parties at 233 Mulbeny Street, Newport, P A, since his birth. On or about August 17, 2006, Asher and the Plaintiff moved to the Plaintiff's current address. While residing at 233 Mulbeny Street, Newport, P A, Plaintiff was the primary caretaker of both Asher and Logan Bower and since Plaintiffhas moved to her current address, Plaintiff continues to be the primary caretaker of Asher, but not Logan Bower. 5. The relationship of the Plaintiff to Asher is that of mother. She is married and living separately. The Plaintiff currently resides with the following: Name Relationshi12 Kathy Ballots Mother Thomas Ballots Father Alexis Robison God-sister Asher Bower Son 6. The relationship of the Defendant to the child is that of rother. He is married and living separately. The Defendant currently resides with the following: Name Logan Bower Relationshi12 Son 7. The parties have not participated in previous litigation concerning the custody of Asher in this court or any court. S. The Plaintiffhas no infonnation of a custody proceeding concerning Asher pending in any other court. 9. The best interest and pennanent welfare of Asher will be served by granting custody to Plaintiffbecause: she can best provide a stable and nurturing environment for her son and has and continues to be the child's primary caretaker. 10. The primary caretaker of Logan Bower (for the past eight weeks) has been Michael Bower, the father, and the primary caretaker of Asher has been T eri Bower, the mother. This custodial relationship has been set up by infonnal agreement among the parties. Currently, the visitation schedule is set up so that ou one weekend Logan will be delivered to the Plaintiff, where the child will stay for that weekeod with his brother and mother; and the next weekend the situation is reversed, where Asher will be delivered to the Defendant and the child will stay for that weekend with his brother and father. This current custodial relationship has been working for both parties. 11. Plaintiff does not know of any person not a party to these proceedings who claims to have custody or visitation rights with respect to the child. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests your Honorable Court to set a time and place for a hearing at which Plaintiff requests an Order grantingj oint custody of both Logan Bower and Asher Bower, primary physical custody of Asher Bower to T eri Bower, and a visitation schedule substantially similar to that which has beeu set up out of court by the parties. Pending said hearing, Plaintiff requests temporary custody of Asher Bower. MARTS ON DEARDORFF WILLIAMS & OTTO Byl~ Michael 1. CoIIins Ten East High Street Carlisle, P A 17013 (717) 243-3341 Date: October 20, 2006 Attorneys for Plaintiff -- -- . . ' .. I VERIFICA nON The foregoing Complaint for Custody is based upon information which has been gathered by my counsel in the preparation of the lawsuit. The language of the document is that of counsel and not my own. I have read the Complaint and to the extent that the document is based upon information which I have given to my counsel, it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief To the extent that the content of the document is that of counsel, I have relied upon counsel in making this verification. This statement and verification are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. Section 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities, which provides that if! make knowingly false averments, I may be subject to criminal penalties. -4~,~ Teiri 0 T e.R. i A~~ 0 r--:I ..~ C'::) , ~ "- C c-.:=> ~ Z 0'" ~ <r. -u~t c:::> ~~ ~, \ \ 'J t32,\~_~;.,: C-' ~ ~ ~ ~ :~~ r," N (F; ........ ~ "-.J -' c:::> ''::\0 \ 'V ......... -....; \ ~ '.~::. -0 =~~ cl'. " ~ -p:, ,..--, ::r:; ~ ~ ~ j;: ~::;: C.j? ~ --7 -\ '-'\ , ~ :2 c.J1 ?:O ~ (.n :<. - , TERI BOWER PLAINTIFF IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNS YL VANIA v. 06-6154 CIVIL ACTION LAW MICHAEL BOWER DEFENDANT IN CUSTODY ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, Tuesday, October 31,2006 , upon consideration of the attached Complaint, it is hereby directed that parties and their respective counsel appear before Hubert X. Gilroy, Esq. at 4th Floor, Cumberland County Courthouse, Carlisle on Thursday, December 07, 2006 , the conciliator, at 10:30 AM for a Pre-Hearing 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. All children age five or older may also be present at the conference. Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order. The court hereby directs the parties to furnish any and all existing Protection from Abuse orders, Special Relief orders, and Custody orders to the conciliator 48 hours prior to scheduled hearine;. FOR THE COURT. By: /s/ Hubert X. Gilrov. Esq. Custody Conciliator ~ The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County is required by law to comply with the Americans with Disabilites Act of 1990. For infonnation about accessible facilities and reasonable accommodations available to disabled individuals having business before the court, please contact our office. 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 SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR ATTORNEY AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HA VE AN ATTORNEY 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 32 South Bedford Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Telephone (717) 249-3166 -1Jf ~ 11 ---- ~ ~ '/(I-rC'.J( ?/Jr '7 ~ ~ 1(1,K"11 ~ Jp -; ~ 4Jr,;..p7J "J(}.tci/ ,- 1, .., 1 '1 : "1',,1., d I '7 'J V " {\ON gaOl DEe 1.2 2006J .5 . " TERI BOWER, Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL VANIA v NO. 06-6154 CIVIL ACTION - LAW MICHAEL BOWER, Defendant IN CUSTODY ORDER OF COURT '\~ AND NOW, this \ "\ day of December, 2006, upon consideration ofthe attached Custody Conciliation Report, it is ordered and directed as follows: 1. The Father, Michael Bower, and the Mother, Teri Bower, shall enjoy shared legal custody of Asher Bower, born December.8, 2002, and Logan Bower, born July 10, 1993. 2. During the weekdays, Father shall enjoy primary physical custody of Logan, and Mother shall enjoy primary physical custody of Asher. On the weekends, the parties shall alternate physical custody of the minor children such that both boys are together subject, however, to the various athletic schedules of the boys and other schedules of the parties. 3. This Order is a temporary Order and is entered without prejudice for either party to assert a different position at a hearing in this case and without prejudice for Father through his counsel to suggest that this matter should be transferred to Perry County Court. 4. The alternating weekend custody arrangement as set forth above shall be handled with Mother having custody of the children on the weekend of December 8th and the parties alternating thereafter. Unless agreed otherwise by the parties, the weekend Mother is getting Logan she shall pick Logan up at Father's home at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and return Logan to Father at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. The weekend Father is getting Asher from Mother the same schedule would apply with Father picking Asher up. However, the parties may modify this schedule any way they desire as long as they agree. Absent an agreement, this schedule shall control. . .. 5. The attorneys for the parties shall conduct a telephone conference call with the Custody Conciliator on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. At that conference call, it shall be determined whether this matter should be set for a formal hearing before the Court and address any other issues that the parties may want to bring before the Conciliator. The parties are also instructed to communicate with respect to a proposed schedule for the Christmas holiday and, if an agreement can't be reached relative the Christmas holiday custody schedule, that issue will be addressed at the telephone conference between the Conciliator and the attorneys. BY THE COURT: \t Cc: L I : II!W tll :)30 9DOl I U\II C" .,'\:..;,i :JIHl JO ALl I..L ~ ~...".d L~'''.h..!'- -1; ..4 3~)lJ::_()-'Cl:jlf:i TERI BOWER, Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v : NO. 06-6154 CIVIL ACTION - LAW MICHAEL BOWER, Defendant IN CUSTODY CONCILIATION CONFERENCE SUMMARY REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY CIVIL RULE OF PROCEDURE 1915.3-8(b), the undersigned Custody Conciliator submits the following report: 1. The pertinent information pertaining to the children who are the subject of this litigation is as follows: Asher Bower, born December 8, 2002 Logan Bower, born July 10, 1993 2. A conciliation conference was held on December 8, 2006, with the following individuals in attendance: The Mother, Teri Bower, with her counsel, Michael Collins, Esquire The Father, Michael Bower, who appeared without counsel. However, Mr. Bower's attorney, Kevin E. Prosser, did speak with the Conciliator the day before the conciliation. 3. The parties separated in August of this year, at which time they reached an informal agreement with Mother having custody of Asher during the week and Father having custody of Logan during the week. On weekends, the parties would alternate custody so the two boys were together. However, around the Thanksgiving holiday, Father unilaterally changed the terms of that agreement and there was an issue with Mother seeing the children. Asher started staying with Father during the week. 4. The parties can't specifically agree upon a Court Order at this time and an interim Order is necessary. The Conciliator suggests that the status quo was the Mother having custody of Asher and Father having custody of Logan during the week with the parties alternating custody on the weekends. The Conciliator recommends that status quo be maintained pending a further agreement between the parties or Order of Court. 5. Father's counsel was unable to attend the conciliation because of the short notice. Additionally, he suggested that this case may be more appropriately litigated in Perry County and he will evaluate that issue. Based on that fact, the Conciliator recommends a temporary Order being entered with the Conciliator to conduct a telephone conference call with legal counsel for the parties to determine what further action, if any, the Cumberland County Court should take. 6. The Conciliator recommends an Order in the form as attached. Date: December g , 2006 SHEA ARLENE CORKLE, Plaintiff : IN THE COURT OF COMMON : PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND : COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. CHARLES HENRY BITNER, JR., Defendant : No. 06-6454 CIVIL TERM : INDIRECT CRIMINAL CONTEMPT ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 27th day of December, 2006, this court orders that the above captioned hearing be heard on Friday January 19, 2007 at 9:00 A.M. in courtroom #4. J. Christin Mehrtens-Carlin, Esq. - W. (~~ /.2/ ~~~ Assistant District Attorney DanPollock,Esq'--n~ ~ /~~Y"/t:'~ For Defendant 1'''' 91 :[: ~ld 62 J3Q 900l .:JO IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA TERI BOWER, Plaintiff v. No. 2006-6154 MICHAEL BOWER, Defendant CIVIL ACTION - LAW IN CUSTODY MOTION FOR CHANGE OF VENUE AND NOW, comes Defendant, Michael Bower, by and through his counsel, Kevin E. Prosser, Esquire, and brings this Motion for Change of Venue, and avers as follows: 1. Defendant is Michel Bower ("Father"), residing at 233 Mulberry Street, Newport, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 17074. Mr. Bower is represented by Undersigned Counsel. 2. Plaintiff is Ten Bower ("Mother"), residing at 1261 Ritner Gardens, Apartment 6, Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 17257. Plaintiff is represented by Attorney Michael J. Collins. 3. The children in question are Asher Bower, born December 8, 2002, and Logan Bower, born July 10,1993. 4. The parties were married but separated on August 17, 2006. 5. At that time, Father retained custody of Logan and Mother took custody of Asher. 6. Mother filed a custody action on October 20, 2006 in Cumberland County. 7. At that time, Cumberland County was not the home county of either child. 8. Father was never served with a copy of the custody complaint. 9. Father only received and Order of Court dated October 31, 2006, noting that a conciliation was scheduled for December 7, 2006. See attached Exhibit "A". 10. Father also received, from Mother's counsel, a letter dated November 30, 2006. That letter indicated that a custody conciliation was scheduled for November 7,2006, but that date was postponed. Plaintiffs counsel assured Mr. Bower that when he became "aware of the new date and time, I will send another letter informing Ten and you of the change." See attached Exhibit "B". 11. Mr. Bower received another letter, by way of courtesy copy from Plaintiffs counsel to Plaintiff. It indicated that "Due to a conflict, the Pre-Hearing Custody Conference scheduled for Thursday, December 7, 2006, has been postponed. When we receive the new Order of Court for the Pre-Hearing Custody Conference, we will notify you promptly of the new date and time." See attached Exhibit "C". 12. Father heard nothing more and assumed he did not need to be in Court on December 7. 13. Father received a phone call from the conciliator on December 7,2006, indicating that he was supposed to be in Court on December 7, and since he was not there he had to be in Court on December 8 at 8:30 a.m. 14. Father was not given an opportunity to object to venue given that he was not served with a complaint, and had no notice of the conciliation. 15. Undersigned Counsel requested a continuance of the December 8 conciliation, but counsel for Plaintiff would not concur. 16. Father was forced to attend the conciliation on December 8, 2006 pro se and without benefit of legal counsel. 17. An Order was entered on December 14th which states: "This Order is a temporary Order and is entered without prejudice for either party to assert a different position at hearing and in this case without prejudice for Father through his counsel to suggest that this matter should be transferred to Perry County Court". 18. The Order gave primary custody of one child to each parent. 19. The Order further scheduled a telephone conference for December 20,2006 at 8:00 a.m., to discuss various issues including the need for a hearing, however counsel for Plaintiff failed and refused to make himself available for that conference, so no conference occurred. 20. At the time of filing, Logan was a full time resident of Perry County and Asher had only temporarily left Perry County for a period of 2 months. 21. Father is seeking primary custody. 22. The primary contacts for both children remain in Perry County. 23. Cumberland County is not a convenient forum to hear this case. WHEREFORE, it is requested that Venue of this action be transferred to Perry County. Respectfully Submitted: (j-~ Kevin E. Prosser, Esquire Supreme Court ID #77227 15 East Main Street PO Box 395 New Bloomfield, P A 17068 717.582.4262 Attorney for Defendant VERIFICATION I verify that the statements made in this foregoing document are true and correct. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. 9 4904, relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. ~ IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA TERI BOWER, Plaintiff v. No. 2006-6154 MICHAEL BOWER, Defendant CIVIL ACTION - LAW IN CUSTODY CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Brandi L. Jones, paralegal for Kevin E. Prosser, Esquire, do hereby certify that on this 1 -Ih (/) -day of January, 2007, I served a copy of the foregoing document by Regular Mail to the person(s) listed below: Michael J Collins, Esquire Martson, Deardorff, Williams & Otto 10 East High Street Carlisle, PA 17013 ~~:e:~~ Paralegal for Kevin E. Prosser, Esq. TERI BOWER PLAINTIFF IN THE CO'URT O'F CO'MMO'N PLEAS O'F CUMBERLAND CO'UNTY , PENNSYLVANIA v. 06-6154 CIVIL ACTIO'N LAW MICHAEL BOWER DEFENDANT IN CUSTO'DY ORDER OF COURT AND NOW', Tuesday, October 31, 2006 , upon consideration of the attached Complaint, it is hereby directed that parties and their respective counsel appear before Hll~_ert X. 9ilroy~_~sq. at 4th Floor, Cumberland County Courthouse, Carlisle on Thursday, December 07, 2006 , the conciliator, at 10:30 AM for a Pre-Hearing 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. All children age five or older may also be present at the conference. Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order. The court hereby directs the parties to furnish any and all existing Protection from A9J.se ~er~ ~; ~~ -n Special Relief orders, and Custody orders to the conciliator 48 hours prior to scheduled hc;!r;1!t2. ::j : , ~ ;~~ ~2: By: Is/ Hubert X. Gilro Es Custody Conciliator l"':' FO'R THE CO'URT. l"'.) .J;.-' -~ ~J.:J .< The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland ,County is required by law t'6 comply with the Americans with Oisabilites Act of 1990. For infonnation about accessible facilities and reasonable accommQ9ations available to disabled individuals having business before the court, please contact our office. 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. YO'U SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO' YO'UR ATTO'RNEY AT O'NCE. IF YO'U DO' NO'T HA VE AN A TTO'RNEY O'R CANNO'T AFFO'RD O'NE, GO' TO' O'R TELEPHO'NE THE O'FFICE SET FO'RTH BELO'W TO' FIND O'UT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Cumberland County Bar Association 32 South Bedford Street Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013 Telephone (717) 249-3166 MARTSON.J:)E!\~:9~F:~~'Ii.~IMf$ & ro IMIJW' 0 '. .. .~... ; . .' ';' '.-.' ", . . , ... ,~ ,. " - ! .' . . , . < . . . -.) ,". - . . '. . . '. ., .. . - " ,',..' .- .' " '-.' . ~ :'. '. :..... . ,- . ,'~ " " ,- . . . . . ,. '. . '. . .. . , ..' ~.: , .... . h ,: _... . . .... ... .. ..... ... ... .. ... ...... . ...... . . . ., ... . " . .. .' ,.-, '. .. ':..': . .' '. :'",' .," .' .:to.' ":,' . .... . ~ : <.. ..' '. .... ,I. .,'. INFqllMkiQN~.1IDVi~~;{\[).Voci€Y ',. . '. . ,. .. 10 EAST HtGRS~ . CAg(jSLB; P~s~vAWi 1101~. .' T~~HO~ ,gl:~)~4l;3341 r~~IMILE . .(7l"7)~~~18?~ INTiRNET ~inidw;p.eoin .~rip~Ys,& COUNSELLORs'J\T :~AW ., Ei.S~ .~~iC~. ~3i$u .~B~;W) CE1Q1i>nID,CML TItIAL-S~s;r .' ,. ~4r. I\4.i~~~~l>.nfrWer. .~~~~.~. . 1 NFo RM A TIt> MDW&:O IN1'OR.VIAT10N . AD\llCE . ADVOCACY AnORNf.YS & COC'-.SELLORS AT LAW TELEPHONE FACSIMILE INTER:-iET (717) 2--l3-3341 (717) 243-1850 "www.mdwo.com WILLIAM F. MARTSON JOHN B. FOWLER III DANIEL K. DEARDORFF THOMAS J. WILLlAMS* Ivo V. 011'0 HI GEORGE B. FALLER JR. * CARL C. RISCH DAVID A. FnZSIMONS CHRISTOPHER E. R1CE JENNIFER L. SPEARS HIllARY A. DEAN MICHAEL J. COLLINS SETH T. MOSEBEY 10 EAST HIGH STREET CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA 17013 *BOARD Cl.RTIHED CIVIL TrUAl. SPH:iAlIST November 30, 2006 Ms. Ten Bower 16 Quarry Hill Road Newville, PA 17241 RE: Ten Bower v. Michael Bower No. 06-6154 Civil- Cumberland County C.C.P. Our File No. 12203.1 Dear Ten: Due to a conflict, the Pre-Hearing Custody Conference scheduled for Thursday, December, 7, 2006, has been postponed. When we receive the new Order of Court for the Pre-Hearing Custody Conference, we will notify you promptly of the new date and time. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, MARTSON DEARDORFF WILLIAMS & OTTO Michael 1. Collins MJC/jacl cc: VMr. Michael Bower F:\FILES\OA T AFILE\GeneraJ\Current\1220J .llb.4 1 N FOR MAT f 0 N · A D V r C E · A 0 v 0 CAe Y ;;$ ~+.....J 'I c'\l .' L. - - ,.... ' "--::~ IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA TERI BOWER, Plaintiff v. No. 2006-6154 &IAN ] 7 2007)) MICHAEL BOWER, Defendant CIVIL ACTION - LAW IN CUSTODY "l AND NOW, this 11 day of ORDER J ~$ ,...~ I , 2001, in considerat~on of the attached Motion for Change of Venue, same is granted and this matter shall be transfe Perry County upon Defendant paying any necessary fees to Perry County to accomplish s e. BY THE COURT ~--l J. f,ti f~.\ ' ~-~ ~~ . ~~ ~ (J . ""j .\ :.' 82 NVr LOOl 00 :8 , : :JHl =10 tf 'f (.~"I'-\;,:-;.,Jj" t\.:;o ....11 .. ;\J(Ui~._. _ ..., /, V~ -:'~I , ;"',."t}:] 11:J j~.J;=-J~"..} \. .,of