- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Family Law
- Date Filed: 08-03-2022
- Case #: A175912
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Egan, J. for the Court; Tookey, P.J.; & Kamins, J.
- Full Text Opinion
Respondent appealed the award of custody of children to Petitioner. Respondent assigned error to the court for not construing Respondent’s erroneous request for joint custody as an intention to seek sole custody. Respondent argued the request for joint custody be construed liberally because Respondent was not represented by counsel at the time of filing. Petitioner objected to discussion of custody at the trial because Respondent had never sought sole custody, but instead had sought joint custody. “The court shall not order joint custody, unless both parents agree to the terms and conditions of the order” ORS 107.169(3). The Court reasoned that there were no grounds to support the inference that Respondent would seek sole custody when joint custody became impossible. The Court concluded that the requirement to liberally construe pleadings did not expand to this interpretation of Respondent’s joint custody request. Affirmed.