In re A.D.B., 2016 Ohio 7186

Grandfather (appellant) filed three separate custody complaints seeking legal custody of his granddaughter A.D.B. (born 2010), alleging Mother's drug use and that Mother caused an injury to the child’s neck; earlier proceedings returned custody to Mother and prior complaints were voluntarily dismissed.
The most recent complaint followed an incident where A.D.B. had an abrasion/ friction burn to her neck; hospital staff and investigators characterized the injury as minor and noncriminal; Mother testified the child caused the injury playing with a hanger.
Grandfather admitted he made an anonymous tip that prompted a police search of the maternal grandmother’s home; no charges resulted from that search.
Trial court held a two-day hearing in September 2015; it found Grandfather failed to prove Mother’s current substance abuse or that the injury resulted from anything other than the explanation accepted by hospital and law enforcement.
The trial court denied Grandfather’s request for drug testing, ruled his custody complaint frivolous, and awarded Mother attorney fees; Grandfather appealed, raising five assignments of error.

Issue	Grandfather's Argument	Mother's Argument	Held
1. Denial of motion to drug-test Mother	Grounds to suspect current drug use based on prior incidents and affidavits	Evidence showed no current substance abuse; affidavits were dated/old and not persuasive	Denial affirmed — no sufficient evidence of current substance abuse to justify testing
2. Release of police chief as witness	Trial court improperly released Fairfield Police Chief Dickey and denied time to review file	Chief testified on first day; Grandfather closed his case and provided only partial transcript	Affirmed — no error; appellant’s partial record limits review
3. Exclusion of investigator’s testimony about doctor’s statements	Compston should have been allowed to recount Dr. Shapiro’s statements about photos	Those out-of-court statements are hearsay and inadmissible	Affirmed — properly excluded as hearsay
4. Manifest weight challenge to custody denial	Trial court ignored clear evidence Mother is unfit	Trial court credited witness testimony that Mother is a suitable, caring parent; no credible evidence of unsuitability	Affirmed — findings not against manifest weight; Grandfather failed to prove parental unsuitability
5. Award of attorney fees to Mother for frivolous conduct	Award improper; claims made in good faith to protect child	Grandfather repeatedly filed unsupported, harassing claims; conduct met statutory definition of frivolous	Affirmed — trial court properly found frivolous conduct and awarded fees

Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (Ohio 1983) (standard for appellate review of abuse of discretion)
Davis v. Flickinger, 77 Ohio St.3d 415 (Ohio 1997) (custody modification requires substantial change in circumstances)
In re Perales, 52 Ohio St.2d 89 (Ohio 1977) (nonparent custody claim requires showing parent unsuitability)
Wiltberger v. Davis, 110 Ohio App.3d 46 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996) (appellate review de novo on questions of law)