Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Waynesburg, Pennsylvania family law lawyers represented the parties in a child custody dispute.

Father and Audra McGee (Mother) are the parents of an eight-year-old son, C.M. (Child), who was born in January 2017. On March 29, 2022, Mother filed a complaint for custody in which she sought primary physical custody of Child.[2] See Complaint for Custody, 3/29/22, at 2; id. at 3 (requesting the
"court grant [Mother] PRIMARY physical and legal custody of [C]hild, C.M., and partial physical custody to [Father]").

On February 7, 2023, the parties entered into a consent order which provided for equally shared physical custody, on a "3-4/4-3 schedule, alternating weekly." Interim Custody Consent Order, 2/7/23, at 4. The parties also agreed Child would "be enrolled in the Uniontown School District." Id. at 3. As the order was entered on an interim basis, the trial court scheduled a status conference for July 24, 2023. On June 20, 2023, the court "sua sponte continue[d] the [s]tatus [c]onference" to July 31, 2023. Order, 6/20/23.

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Legal issue Can a hearing officer, rather than a trial court, decide issues of primary physical custody under Pennsylvania law?

Key Phrases Primary physical custody. Hearing officer decision. Statutory custody factors. Trial court error. Custody hearing procedure.

Outcome: Vacated and remanded.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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