Background
Dallas D. (Father) and Desirae F. (Mother) share a child born in 2018. Father filed a July 2025 petition seeking increased parenting time and primary decision-making authority. Mother opposed the child living with Father full time, while stating she had no issue with Father having more time with the child.
After a September 2025 hearing, the Family Court of Wood County ordered the parties to submit fee-waiver materials for a guardian ad litem and to complete a high-conflict parenting course and file a report before the next hearing. The court also awarded Father weekend parenting time and scheduled a final hearing. The hearing was later rescheduled, but on February 13, 2026, the family court dismissed Father’s modification petition after finding he had failed to complete the required documentation.
The Court’s Holding
The Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that Father had not shown he complied with the family court’s order requiring both a fee-waiver affidavit and certification that he attended the high-conflict parenting course.
The dismissal was a sanction for Father’s noncompliance with the family court’s directives, and the appellate court found no abuse of discretion. Because it upheld the dismissal on that ground, the court declined to address the merits of Father’s requested modification.
Key Takeaways
- A family court may dismiss a parenting-plan modification petition as a sanction for a movant’s failure to comply with court-ordered procedural requirements.
- The appellant bears the burden of showing compliance with the orders at issue and demonstrating that the family court abused its discretion.
- The affirmance did not bar Father from seeking a future custody modification after complying with the family court’s December 2025 order.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that litigants seeking changes to custody or parenting arrangements must comply with interim family-court directives, including documentation and court-ordered education requirements. A court may dispose of the petition without reaching the requested custody change when the moving party fails to do so.