In re L.V., 2012 Ohio 5871

Mother seeks transfer of L.V.'s legal custody from Father to Mother; prior arrangement shared parenting with custody in Father.
L.V. diagnosed with Factitious Disorder Pediatric; professionals describe enmeshed relationship with Mother and harm from Mother's non-supervised contact.
May 2009: L.V. adjudicated dependent; July 2009: legal custody awarded to Father with protective CSB supervision; Mother’s custody motion withdrawn; case plan set.
2010–2011: Mother engages in unauthorized contact, leading to contempt finding and suspension of visitation; 2011: court reinstitutes one hour of supervised visitation weekly.
September 2011: hearing held; trial court denies transfer of custody to Mother, maintains Father; increases Mother's visitation and allows occasional school-function invitations.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Change of custody requires new circumstances	Mother argues change in circumstances supports custody transfer	Father argues no substantial change since prior order	No change in circumstances; custody not modified
Denial of continuance due to counsel illness	Mother contends trial court abused discretion denying continuance	Father contends court appropriately balanced interests	No abuse of discretion; continuances warranted given context
In camera interview of minor	Mother asserts mandatory in camera interview was required	Father asserts sufficient input from counselors and prior interviews	Court acted reasonably; no error in not requiring additional in camera interview

In re J.S., 11th Dist. No. 2011-L-162, 2012-Ohio-4461 (11th Dist. 2012) (change of custody requires changed circumstances)
Davis v. Flickinger, 77 Ohio St.3d 415 (Sup. Ct. 1997) (permanence in custody orders; abuse of discretion standard)
Wyss v. Wyss, 3 Ohio App.3d 412 (10th Dist. 1982) (finality in custody determinations)
State v. Unger, 67 Ohio St.2d 65 (1981) (continuance decision factors; due process considerations)