In Re Marriage of Brown and Yana

Opinion

BAXTER, J.

In this case, a parent who had been awarded sole legal and sole physical custody of a child after a contested custody dispute sought to relocate with her child to Nevada. The noncustodial parent opposed the relocation and sought, among other things, to have the matter addressed in an evidentiary hearing, i.e., a contested hearing with live testimony. The trial court denied the noncustodial parent’s applications to restrain the relocation and to modify custody without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that “in a ‘move-away’ case, a parent…