The Appellate Group

John v. John

John v. John, 2023 UT App 103 (Luthy, J.)

Family Law

Mother appealed the district court’s decree requiring her in-person parent-time to be supervised. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:

  • The district court’s findings were adequate because Mother “potentially could still be a danger” to Child because (1) Mother had not complied with court orders and (2) Child had only been in her presence three times in the last four years.
  • Practice tip: Before a court can order supervised parent-time, it must find that unsupervised parent-time presents a current risk of harm to the child—not a past or historic risk of harm.
  • Practice tip: A sufficiency of the evidence argument asserts there is insufficient evidence for a particular finding while an adequacy of the evidence argument asserts the court’s findings do not adequately explain the basis for the court’s ruling.

Read the full court opinion