In Re the Marriage of Nguyen

Mother appeals a judgment granting custody of her child, T, to mother’s parents. The trial court initially concluded that neither mother nor father could adequately care for T and awarded temporary custody to grandparents, who at that time were witnesses at the custody hearing but not parties to the case. Six months later, the court granted grandparents’ motion to intervene, finding that they had established the child-parent relationship that is a prerequisite to participating as third parties in a custody action. The court subsequently awarded grandparents sole legal and physical custody of…