Court sides with mom against grandparents

The Nevada Supreme Court recently sided with a Las Vegas woman who has been mired in a nine-year custody battle with her parents.

In an order filed May 8, the state's high court upheld the February 2008 decision of then-Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio to award Chastity Primmer primary physical custody of her firstborn child, Jacob.

"In this case, no finding of parental unfitness or extraordinary circumstances has been made to justify awarding custody to a nonparent," according to the order.

Primmer was 16 when she gave birth to Jacob in May 2000. Within two months, her parents obtained temporary guardianship of the boy.

They remained his guardians until November 2007, when Family Court Judge Cynthia "Dianne" Steel discovered a procedural error that had gone unnoticed since the inception of the case.

Steel ended the guardianship but issued an emergency order that essentially maintained the status quo. Jacob's grandparents, Matthew and Marilyn McLaughlin, then filed a motion for custody that landed the case before Del Vecchio, who restored Primmer's custody.

The McLaughlins appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Primmer, 25, said she has had custody of Jacob, who turns 9 later this month, since March 2008, and "he's doing great."

Del Vecchio's ruling reversed the visitation schedule for Jacob, giving his grandparents the three weekends a month that Primmer previously had been given.

Primmer said she plans to return to Family Court soon in an effort "to do away with any forced visitation."

"My plan is not to end any and all contact," she said.

Primmer said she wants the right to decide on a case-by-case basis when Jacob should see his grandparents.

"It should just be normal, like any other family," she said.

Her attorney, Stephen Caruso, said Jacob's grandparents see him "more than many parents see their children."

"The only visitation they should get is visitation the mother agrees they should have," Caruso said. "These are constitutional rights that we want enforced: the right of a parent to raise her child as she sees fit."

Primmer married her husband, Ian, in June 2002. They are raising their 3-year-old son, and Primmer has not allowed the boy to spend time with his maternal grandparents. She said she fears her parents would develop a bond with the boy and use it as a basis to remove him from her custody.

The woman said her parents allowed Jacob to live with her for three years before taking him back in December 2005, the same month she gave birth to her second child. She said Jacob's father never has had a role in his life.

According to the state Supreme Court's order, Primmer "maintained an active role in the child's life while working through issues in her own life, including finding adequate housing and attending parenting classes."

Attorney Denise Pifer began representing the McLaughlins after their previous attorney, Chuck Hoskin, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Family Court bench in March. Neither Pifer nor the McLaughlins could be reached for comment on the state Supreme Court ruling.

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