Mother wins custody of son from her parents

After battling her parents in court for nearly eight years, a North Las Vegas woman has been awarded custody of her firstborn child.

"It was a very long, painful fight, but I finally found a great lawyer and a couple of judges who actually read their cases and realized the truth," Chastity Primmer said last week. "Now my son and I can heal together, although I have heard my parents might appeal."

Primmer was 16 when she gave birth to her son Jacob in May 2000. Within two months, her parents obtained temporary guardianship of the boy. They remained his guardians until November, 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 Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio.

Del Vecchio held a hearing in mid-January and issued his decision about two weeks later.

"The court finds that the natural mother is fit and proper to now have custody of Jacob and her custody is restored," according to the ruling.

Attorney Chuck Hoskin, who represents the boy's grandparents, said Del Vecchio made his decision without hearing any testimony.

"I'm disappointed with the ruling," Hoskin said Friday. "I wish that the court would have taken more time to learn all of the facts and circumstances, rather than making a ruling on a single motion hearing."

The lawyer confirmed that he and his clients are considering an appeal.

"We are weighing the effect this is going to have on the child before making that decision," he said.

Meanwhile, the boy remains in the custody of his grandparents. Hoskin said Primmer has not asked to take custody of the boy; Primmer said her attorney has advised her to wait for a formal order.

A number of hearing masters and judges have handled the case over the years. A year ago, Primmer said the court system had left her with little hope that she would ever regain custody of Jacob.

Primmer married her husband, Ian, in June 2002. They are raising their 2-year-old son, and Primmer has not allowed the boy to spend time with his maternal grandparents. She said she feared her parents would develop a bond with the boy and use it as a basis to remove him from her custody.

However, Primmer said she does not object to Del Vecchio's decision to grant her parents visitation with Jacob.

"I'm not trying to take Jacob away," she said. "That would be bad for Jacob."

Del Vecchio's ruling reverses the existing visitation schedule for Jacob, giving his grandparents the three weekends a month that Primmer previously had been given. The ruling also directed Primmer's lawyer, Stephen Caruso, to prepare a formal order for Hoskin to sign.

Caruso said he views the three weekends a month as excessive visitation for grandparents, but he prepared an order that included the requirement.

On Friday, Hoskin said he planned to sign the order soon. But he already has filed a motion "to resolve remaining issues in the case." Those issues include a holiday visitation schedule and Jacob's schooling.

Under his grandparents' guardianship, Jacob has been enrolled in a private school. The McLaughlins have offered to pay his tuition for the remainder of the school year, but Primmer said she plans to transfer him as soon as possible to a public school near her home.

Primmer, now 24, works full time as a personal banker and has been paying child support to her parents for Jacob. She 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 has never had a role in his life.

Hoskin, who is running for a newly created judgeship in Family Court, said he hopes Primmer does well as Jacob's custodian.

"We still believe that the best interest of the child is served by spending the majority of his time with the grandparents," the lawyer said.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.