Marina Franzoni v. Raul A. Acosta (2014)

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON MOTION # 148

A hearing was held February 4, 2014 on the plaintiff's Motion for Modification, Motion for Order, and Motion for Counsel Fees, Postjudgment.   At the time of the hearing the parties stipulated to the entry of certain orders but the defendant contested the entry of other orders proposed by the plaintiff.   The first three orders set forth below are entered with the agreement of the parties as stated in open court.   The remaining orders are entered by the court based on the facts found below.

FINDINGS

The plaintiff, who has sole custody, scheduled an evaluation of the minor child for December 18 and 19, 2013 at Yale New Haven Hospital.   The evaluation was discontinued after the first day following the defendant's contact with personnel at Yale. The communications with Yale by the defendant directly caused the cancellation of the second phase of the evaluation scheduled for December 19, 2013.   The defendant had no authority to cause such cancellation.  (The evaluation has since been completed and the parties await the results.)

The defendant's improper interference with the evaluation caused the Guardian ad Litem to perform work which would not otherwise have been required, resulting in additional fees due to her.   More specifically, based on the testimony of the Guardian ad Litem the court finds that 1.1 hours of her time expended on December 19, 2013 related solely to the Yale evaluation issue created by the defendant.   At her hourly rate of $300, which the court finds reasonable in this case, the additional fees incurred were $330.

The plaintiff testified that in the normal course of her business as a naturopathic physician, she would have seen approximately six patients on December 19, 2013 at an approximate average fee of $100 each had she not canceled her office hours to bring the minor child to the evaluation which was discontinued.   While the income lost by the plaintiff cannot be determined with precision, based on her testimony the court finds that the plaintiff unnecessarily suffered a loss of income in the amount of at least $300 to attend the evaluation which was aborted due to the conduct of the defendant.

The legal fees incurred by the plaintiff relate to a number of issues in the dispute between the parties.   By her testimony, the plaintiff had incurred legal fees of “a little over $3,000” during the period between November 4, 2013 and the date of the hearing.   The court is unable to determine the portion thereof that relates solely to the conduct of the defendant in connection with the Yale evaluation.   The court concludes that under all the circumstances it would not be appropriate to order the defendant to pay all legal fees incurred by the plaintiff during the period in question.

ORDERS

1. As the plaintiff has been awarded sole legal custody of the minor child by prior order of the court, she has the sole right to make all educational, academic, school-related (including PPT), health-related and extracurricular activity decisions for the minor child.   The defendant shall not represent to any third-party whatsoever that he is allowed any input into these child-related decisions and the defendant shall not interfere with the plaintiff's decisions as sole custodian regarding the minor child.

2. The defendant is ordered to pay one-half (1/2) of the costs of Yale New Haven Hospital's evaluation of the minor child (total cost $5,500) promptly upon receipt of a legible copy of the invoice for same.

3. The plaintiff will initiate Skype or telephone contact between the minor child and the defendant at least once weekly when the minor child is best able to maintain his concentration and interest.   For a period of four weeks following the date of this decision, the Guardian ad Litem shall be available to attempt to resolve any issues which may arise in connection with such contact.

4. The defendant is ordered to pay the first $330 of the outstanding fees of the Guardian ad Litem, with the remaining balance to be borne equally by the parties pursuant to the court's prior order (with each party receiving credit against his or her half for payments previously made by such party).

5. The defendant is ordered to pay $300 to the plaintiff for her lost income as found above, within thirty (30) days of this order.

6. The plaintiff's motion for the defendant to pay her legal fees is denied.

SO ORDERED.

BY THE COURT,

Albis, J.

Albis, Michael A., J.