Appellate Court Reverses Child Custody Decision That Was "Based on [a] Decade-Old Sexual Assault Allegation"

From Young v. Benoit, decided yesterday by the Arizona Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Presiding Judge David D. Weinzweig, joined by Judges Brian Y. Furuya and Judge Jennifer M. Perkins:

Mother and Father dated for several months in 2010 and 2011. They had sex, often unprotected, and Mother got pregnant. Their relationship ended before the child, Jack, was born in October 2011. Two months later, Father petitioned the family court to establish paternity, child custody, parenting time and child support….

Mother and Father resolved all issues [in 2012] under a "Joint Custody Agreement and Parenting Plan." Both parents were represented by counsel, and both signed the agreement. In relevant part, the agreement provided that "[t]he parties have taken into consideration the best interest of the minor child as required under A.R.S. § 25-403," "[n]either parent is influenced by duress or coercion in entering into this Agreement," "FATHER and MOTHER can sustain an ongoing commitment to the child," and "[t]here has been no significant domestic violence that would preclude joint legal custody in this matter."

The court [gave the parties joint legal custody but] … award[ed] Mother final decision-making authority on important decisions and award[ed] Father parenting time every other weekend…. The court also found that Mother and Father had "mutually agreed to proceed by consent," that "no duress or coercion [was] involved in the negotiations," and that "each party underst[ood] that by virtue of this agreement, they are waiving their right to trial." Neither Father nor Mother appealed from the 2012 Decree….