In last week's Peterson v. Rush (Pa. Super. Ct.), the trial court had given shared legal and physical custody of a daughter to the mother and father, but also stated this:
I am, therefore, going to order Mother that, to the extent that she has concerns over child abuse, obviously any concerns regarding child abuse need to be reported to authorities, but they must now be reported with a disclaimer [(Disclaimer)]: "The [c]ourt made a finding of fact at the conclusion of a one-day trial on September 10, 2024, that Mother has intentionally weaponized the [Protection From Abuse], I[ndirect] C[riminal] C[ontempt], and child abuse process[es] in an effort to gain an advantage in custody proceedings." Mother should then further inform the providers that: "Nevertheless, all legitimate allegations or concerns of child abuse should be fully investigated as required by law." I am ordering Mother to make those two statements in any further child abuse reports so that a proper context is had….
On appeal, Judge Anne Lazarus, joined by Judge Timika Lane, upheld this condition:
