City and County of San Francisco v. H.H.

D.H.’s mother (plaintiff) and father (defendant) had a contentious relationship marked with incidents of abuse. For example, the father kicked the mother in the stomach upon learning she was pregnant. Also, when the mother filed for child support, the father slashed the mother’s tires to prevent her from attending the hearing and was arrested at the hearing after becoming aggressive. The father subsequently initiated custody proceedings. The trial court granted the mother sole temporary custody but awarded the father weekly visits from Tuesdays to Fridays. The new schedule escalated the tension between the mother and father. The father repeatedly threatened the mother’s life and safety. He also called child protective services multiple times alleging that the mother had hurt or was threatening to hurt D.H. The allegations were deemed not credible. However, the father would refuse to return D.H. to the mother, sometimes for weeks at a time. The mother became increasingly concerned that D.H. was being abused at the father’s house. D.H told the mother that he was frequently hit, and he displayed violent behavior. The mother eventually filed a request for a domestic-violence restraining order (DVRO) and a request for sole custody of D.H. The trial court issued a restraining order protecting the mother from the father and awarded the mother sole legal and physical custody. However, the trial court left the existing visitation schedule in place, meaning that D.H. would be in the father’s home from Tuesdays to Fridays. The mother appealed, arguing that the trial court effectively ordered joint custody and that doing so violated state law.