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Seid v. Seid12/31/2001
Appeal from the District Court of Laramie County The Honorable Nicholas Kalokathis, Judge
[ ] Appellant, Kerry Preston Seid (hereafter Father), seeks review of an October 15, 1999 order of the district court, which held him to be in contempt of the district court's March 4, 1993 order establishing child custody in this divorce case. Father contends that a portion of the district court's judgment and order must be reversed and remanded to the district court for proceedings before another judge because of an alleged ex parte contact between Appellee's counsel and the district court. Appellee, Valerie Lynne Seid (nka Valerie Otto) (hereafter Mother), rejoins, asserting that the appeal should be dismissed because Father is in violation of several of the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure, and that the ex parte contact, if any, did not result in a manifest injustice to Father. Mother also seeks the imposition of sanctions against Father under W.R.A.P. 1.03 and 10.05. We will affirm.
ISSUES
[ ] Father raises these issues:
I. Was there manifest injustice which resulted to Father as a result of Mother's attorney's ex parte communication to the trial court?
II. Did the trial judge engage in conduct which would create in reasonable minds a perception that the judge's ability to carry out judicial responsibilities with integrity, impartiality and competence is impaired?
Mother contends these are the appropriate issues:
I. Whether Appellant's appeal should be dismissed for failing to comply with the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.
II. Whether Appellant's appeal should be dismissed because a manifest injustice did not occur as a result of the alleged ex parte communication and Appellant was not substantially injured or prejudiced as a result of the communication.
III. Whether penalties should be assessed against Appellant's counsel in the form of attorney's fees and costs incurred in connection with this appeal because Appellant failed to comply with the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.
IV. Whether penalties should be assessed against Appellant's counsel in the form of attorneys' fees and costs incurred in connection with this appeal because Appellant had no reasonable grounds for this appeal and therefore the appeal is frivolous.
FACTS
[ ] In a decree of divorce entered on March 4, 1993, the parties' marriage was dissolved, and Mother was awarded custody of their daughter, Aurora, as well as their son, Christopher. During the years 1993 through 1999, the parents made informal "modifications" to the custody and visitation arrangements established by the district court in 1993. Neither parent ever sought a formal modification of the custody and visitation arrangements, and neither parent ever found it necessary to invoke the aid of the district court in resolving their differences over custody or visitation. This was so even though Mother moved to Montana shortly after the divorce was final, and the parents eventually agreed that Christopher should be in the custody of Father, without need for intervention by the courts.
[ ] On August 10, 1999, Father filed a petition to modify the custody and support provisions of the 1993 divorce decree. In that petition, Father alleged that there was an "emergency" which justified an immediate change in custody of Aurora from Mother to Father. The record does not reflect that there had been any animosity between the parents over custody or visitation, up to and including the time that the petition to modify was filed. On August 13, 1999, Father filed a motion to peremptorily disqualify District Judge
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