Deprivation order AFFIRMED as evidence supported it; mother repeatedly subjected children to unwarranted and unnecessary forensic interviews and medical exams in her unsuccessful attempts to substantiate sexual abuse by their father.

In the Interest of S.K. and A.K., A09A1357 (11/13/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (12/4/2009)

Judgment AFFIRMED in parties’ divorce case; trial court correctly avoided any assumption against mother’s relocation to Pennsylvania and did not abuse its discretion in awarding priomary physical custody of parties’ young child to father; trial court had authority to discount any evidence of grandparents’ previous voluntary support of their grandchild, given parties’ substantial incomes.

Haskell v. Haskell, S09F1100 (11/02/09).

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (11/11/2009)

GA judgment requiring father to pay $1,639 per month in child support, REVERSED, as trial court erred in failing to hold hearing prior to imposing discovery sanctions and sanctions were unduly severe; trial court excluded critical evidence and/or precluded father from making arguments that were critical to his case; trial court also erred in calculating father’s self-employment gross income, because trial court ignored father’s business expenses and other deductions and fact that he only owned one percent of shares in small construction and remodeling company.

Harrell v. Georgia Dept. f Human Reources ex rel. Harrell, A09A1886 (10/15/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report  (11/06/2009)

Ruling that Petitioner is born-out-of-wedlock daughter of decedent and therefore his heir with right to inherit from his estate, AFFIRMED;  DNA testing, which established 99.65% probability that decedent’s biological son and petitioner were half-siblings constituted parentage-determination genetic testing under OCGA 53-2-3,  since test results, along with undisputed fact that petitioner and son did not have same biological mother and that decedent was son’s biological father, demand conclusion that same probability existed that decedent was petitioner’s father; contention that parentage-determination genetic testing under OCGA 53-2-3 is limited to direct comparison of DNA samples taken from born-out-of-wedlock child and deceased putative father rejected.

In re Estate of Warren, A09A1297 (10/08/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (10/30/09)

Judgment affirmed in Silman v. Assocs. Bellemead, 294 Ga.App. 764 (2008); phrase, potential for litigation, in Baxley v. Hakiel Insudtried, 282 Ga. 312 (2007), refers to litigation that is actually contemplated or pending and nothing more;  Baxley reaffirmed proposition that ‘ “spoliation refers to the destruction or failure to preserve evidence that is necessary to contemplated or pending litigation.” ‘

Silman v. Associates Belemead, S09G0490 (10/19/09).

Fulton County Daily Report, 10/30/2009.

Trial court does not abuse its discretion in admitting videotape of child’s (victim’s) forensic interview, when interviewer develops rapport with child, does not attempt to influence child, asks open-ended questions and followed most widely-used forensic technique in country.

Brown v. State, A09A0894 (10/07/09)

Attorneys:  Anne L. Watson, Travis Anton Williams, Lee Darragh, Wanda Lynn Vance

Judges:  David Burroughs, Hall Superior Court; Phipps, Bernes, Adams, Georgia Court of Appeals

Order of ajudication and grant of custody to paternal grandparents REVERSED AND VACATED  as juvenile court erred in granting service by publication on childen’s mother; paternal grandparents had available communication channels through which they could have notified mother of hearing, but failed to do so, and juvenile court also failed to place any burden on paternal grandparents to determine what notice they had given her; juvenile court lacked personal jurisdiction over mother based on its improper grant of service by publication and erred in failing to set aside its ajuduication order when mother’s physical location was known and no one attempted to personally serve her.

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (10/23/2009)

Taylor v. Padgett, A09A1384 (10/06/09), 09 FCDR 3247

Attorneys:  Shawn D. Bible, John S. Husser

Judges:  J Michael Giglio, Catoosa Juvenile Court; Miller, Andrews, Barnes, Georgia Court of Appeals

Order incarcerating appellant for contempt arising from her divorce decree, REVERSED, as trial court erred in incarcerating appellant based only upon letter from opposing counsel asserting that she had not complied with terms of trial court’s October 15, 2008 order – incarceration of contumacious party cannot depend upon mere averments of interested party; res judicata did not bar appellant’s appeal, because she appealed order entered subsequent to her prior appeal.

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (10/16/09)

Bauman v. Humphries, A09A1096 (09/29/09), 09 FCDR 3185

Attorneys:  David Cole, Allen W. Bodiford

Judges:  Brian Amero, Henry Superior Court;  Blackburn, Boyle, Adams, Georgia Court of Appeals

Judgment REVERSED in parties’ divorce case; trial court erred in applying discretionary parenting time deviation from presumptive amount of child support without making all required findings under OCGA 19-6-15(c)(2)(E) and (i)(1)(B); under revised child support guidelines, trial court erred in making separate child support award for extracurricular activities, which was outside parameters of Child Support Worksheet; any deviation for special expenses must be included in Schedule E.

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (10/16/09)

Turner v. Turner, S09F1313 (10/05/09)

Attorney:  Pandora E. Palmer, Katherine E. Fagan, Edea M. Caldwell

Judges:  Brian Amero,  Henery Superior Court;  Supreme Court of Georgia, Thompson,

Denial of petition to terminate mother’s parental rights to three children, AFFIRMED, as DFACS failed to present clear and convincing evidence that deprivation was likely to continue; evidence showed that mother had made progress on her case plan, including maintaining housing and employment, undergoing mental health evaluations, completing parenting classes and visiting children; limitation forbidding judge from expressing or intimating his opinion did not apply to termination hearing, since it was not conducted in front of jury.

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (10/9/2009)

In the Interest of D.W., A09A0900 (09/23/09)

Attorneys:  Anissa R. Patton, Waymon Sims, Thurbert E. Baker, Shalen S. Nelson, Robert E. Hall, Victoria Warren

Judges:  George Blau, Fulton Juvenile Court; Georgia Court of Appeals, Smith, Bernes, Phipps