CROMBIE V. WILLIAMS

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CROMBIE V. WILLIAMS

State: Florida

Court: Florida Third District Court

Docket No: 09-0567

Case Date: 12/22/2010

Preview:Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida, July Term, A.D. 2010
Opinion filed December 22, 2010. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. ________________ No. 3D09-567 Lower Tribunal No. 04-29867 ________________

Shelley A.E. Crombie,
Appellant, vs.

Ian Williams,
Appellee. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Joel H. Brown, Judge. Charmaine C. Powell, for appellant. Diane H. Tutt (Davie), for appellee. Before WELLS, SHEPHERD, and LAGOA, JJ. WELLS, Judge. Shelley A. E. Crombie appeals from a "Final Judgment on Time Sharing," denying her petition to relocate to Jacksonville with the minor child. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm but do so with instructions.

In September 2003, Crombie gave birth, out of wedlock, to NIW. A little over a year later, in November of 2004, Ian Williams petitioned against his exgirlfriend to establish paternity, custody, and child support of this child. In April of 2006 a final judgment establishing Williams as the father and designating Crombie as primary residential parent was entered. That judgment also set a visitation schedule for Williams while reserving jurisdiction to determine a child support award. It further provided that neither party could relocate NIW without the other's agreement or a court order: 14. Neither the Mother nor the Father may relocate the child's residence outside of Miami-Dade or Broward County without written agreement of the other parent or Court Order. Crombie subsequently lost her job and decided to live with family in Jacksonville. On September 22, 2007, she filed a notice of intent to relocate. By the time Williams received the notice two days later, Crombie had already left South Florida with NIW. Williams immediately sought NIW's return, which

resulted in a contempt order against Crombie for violating the final judgment's relocation clause. Crombie thereafter sought relief from the final judgment and petitioned the court for permission to relocate to Jacksonville. Williams sought both an order redetermining time-sharing with NIW and also changing custody to name him as primary residential parent. Crombie's motion to modify or for authority to relocate

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was denied; Williams' motion for redetermination of time-sharing was granted with NIW being placed in his home in Miami while Crombie was in Jacksonville. We find no abuse of discretion in the trial judge's decision that staying in South Florida was in the child's best interest and denying relocation. We also find no abuse in adjusting the parties' visitation schedule. See Muller v. Muller, 964 So. 2d 732, 733 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) ("We review a trial court's order regarding relocation under an abuse of discretion standard. Botterbusch v. Botterbusch, 851 So. 2d 903, 904 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (citing Dorta-Duque v. Dorta-Duque, 791 So. 2d 1148, 1149 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001))."); Fredman v. Fredman, 917 So. 2d 1038, 1041 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (instructing that where court approval was required "the trial court must consider the factors outlined in section 61.13(2)(d)"); Buonavolonta v. Buonavolonta, 846 So. 2d 649, 651-52 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); Hardwick v. Hardwick, 710 So. 2d 124, 125 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); see also

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