Loewen v. Newsome, 2014 Ohio 5786

Parents: Mother (Newsome) and Father (Loewen); child born Sept. 2004. Father lived abroad (Germany, then Florida); child lived with Mother until Father took him to Florida after an initial custody award to Father.
Father sued twice to establish parent-child relationship; initial custody decision naming Father residential parent was reversed on appeal for denying Mother due process and remanded for new custody proceedings.
After remand, trial court issued an interim/temporary order naming Father residential parent pending further hearing; guardian ad litem (GAL) was appointed and parties ordered to split GAL fees and travel costs.
Scheduling and communication failures followed: GAL availability, disputes over who would schedule home visits, and confusion about the specific amount and deposit deadline for GAL travel expenses.
Trial court released the GAL three days after a March 4, 2013 hearing—finding Mother had refused to pay her share—and proceeded to a March 25, 2013 hearing without the GAL and (after Mother left) awarded custody to Father and denied Mother parenting time.
Appeal issues: (1) whether the court should have reverted custody to Mother after the remand; (2) whether releasing the GAL (and failing to appoint a replacement) was an abuse of discretion; (3) claim that the trial was procedurally unfair (mooted by appellate disposition).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Mother)	Defendant's Argument (Father)	Held
Whether court should have restored custody to Mother after appellate reversal	Reversal of prior custody award required return to pre-decree status; Mother remained residential parent absent change of circumstances	Trial court could enter a temporary order pending final resolution; child had lived with Father for >2 years, court acted within R.C. 3109.043 authority	Court: Temporary post-remand order naming Father residential parent was permissible; Mother failed to show court lacked authority — claim overruled
Whether court abused discretion by releasing GAL and not appointing replacement	GAL removal was erroneous because parties never given specific fee amount or deadline; Mother cooperated, had met GAL, and offered to pay once amount known	GAL could not complete evaluations because travel fees unpaid; court relied on parties' failure to deposit travel costs	Court: Abuse of discretion to release GAL under these facts—no specific fee order or deadline; Mother did not refuse to pay; GAL release reversed and remanded
Whether trial violated Mother's due process / was unfair	Trial proceeded without GAL and with limited Mother participation, depriving her fair hearing	Court proceeded to manage docket and proceed with witnesses; prior appellate reversal already found earlier due-process defects	Appellate court: Issue rendered moot by reversal of GAL removal and remand; did not decide on due-process claim (moot)

Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (Ohio 1983) (abuse-of-discretion standard explained)
State ex rel. Papp v. James, 69 Ohio St.3d 373 (Ohio 1994) (statutory requirements for guardian ad litem appointment under R.C. 3109.04)