4.7.2 Illustrative Cases

Cases discussing parent vs. non-parent custody disputes include:

Gill v. Bennett.1  Grandmother was not entitled to custody of child born out of wedlock, even though she had acted as child’s primary caretaker for a period of time and had been afforded status as child’s permanent guardian in an Indiana court prior to the child’s relocation to Louisiana, absent a showing that an award of custody to mother and father would have resulted in substantial harm to the child.

Rupert v. Swinford.2  Record supported finding that award of sole custody of child to father would cause substantial harm to child, and thus, trial court’s award of joint custody of father and maternal grandmother was not abuse of discretion, where there was testimony of father’s drug use, child had very close relationship with maternal grandmother with whom he had lived off and on for his entire life, and there was testimony that child had no regular meal times and kept late hours when staying with father.3

In re Melancon.4  The nonparent failed to allege a cause of action under La. C.C. art. 133 that allowed for an award of custody to a person other than a parent. Parent could not consent to joint custody with a non-parent. “In essence, the law today simply does not permit a parent to share custody with a non-parent without a showing of substantial harm to the child.”5

• 12011-886 (La. App. 3 Cir. 12/7/11), 82 So. 3d 383.
• 295-0395 (La. App. 1 Cir. 10/6/95), 671 So. 2d 502.
• 3See also McKinley v. McKinley, 631 So. 2d 45 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1994); In re Landrum, 97-826 (La. App. 3 Cir. 12/10/97), 704 So. 2d 872; Dalferes v. Dalferes, 98 1234 (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/18/98), 724 So. 2d 805.
• 42010-1463 (La. App. 1 Cir. 12/22/10), 62 So. 3d 759.
• 5Id. at 764.