Lawrence v. Delkamp
North Dakota Supreme Court
620 N.W.2d 151 (2000)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
John Lawrence (plaintiff) and Tina Delkamp (defendant) were unmarried and had a son, Rylan, together. The parties litigated the matter of child custody. Evidence showed that Lawrence had threatened Delkamp on various occasions. One time, Lawrence threatened Delkamp that he would have his girlfriend “beat the crap out” of Delkamp if she pursued the issue of child support. Lawrence also told Delkamp that she would not be seeing Rylan after he was in Lawrence’s care and, on another occasion, that Lawrence could “eliminate” Rylan in a boating accident. Further, Lawrence threatened not to return Rylan to Delkamp after a visit unless Delkamp agreed to let Lawrence claim Rylan as an exemption on Lawrence’s tax return. Under the state child-custody statute, custody was awarded based on a child’s best interests, but the existence of domestic violence, as defined, created a rebuttable presumption against an award of custody to the perpetrator. The trial court found domestic violence and awarded custody to Delkamp, with supervised visits to Lawrence. Lawrence appealed, challenging the finding of domestic violence.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (VandeWalle, C.J.)
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