Please help me read this court order

[Jordee Lowe]

Jurisdiction

California

We petitioned for ex parte and do not know if it was denied or approved. To us reading it seemed like we were granted the custody and no visitation until the next court date. And the the request for a sooner court date was denied at the end. But then also we can't tell if it's saying the whole petition was denied.

 

[Tax Counsel]

We petitioned for ex parte and do not know if it was denied or approved. To us reading it seemed like we were granted the custody and no visitation until the next court date. And the the request for a sooner court date was denied at the end. But then also we can't tell if it's saying the whole petition was denied.

The order grants temporary custody to the respondent until the upcoming scheduled court hearing with no visitation to the petitioner. The copy you uploaded was sent to the petitioner, and based on you statement that you made the ex parte request, it seems you are the petitioner and the other parent would be the respondent. If that's that's the case, then the other parent was given temporary custody with no visitation to you. The statement at the bottom that "ex parte denied without prejudice" means that the entire ex parte request was denied but will have no effect on the upcoming hearing. As I have not read the ex parte motion that you filed, the response by the petitioner, nor read any of the documents in the court file, though, I can't say what other impact, if any, there might be. If you don't have a lawyer you may want to consult one about this to prepare for that upcoming hearing. If you can't afford an attorney, look for a legal aid clinic that may be close to you to see if you can get help from an attorney there.

 

[Jordee Lowe]

We are the respondent …so you are saying the respondent did receive temporary custody? We filed for ex parte for full temporary custody, no visitation and trying to move up the court date. Prior to this we had 50/50 legal and physical custody.

 

[adjusterjack]

so you are saying the respondent did receive temporary custody?

Looks like that to me, too.

Prior to this we had 50/50 legal and physical custody.

What is your justification for the change?

And why did you try to sneak it past with an ex parte motion that your ex wouldn't know about?

 

[Jordee Lowe]

The petitioner's other children were removed from the home and placed in foster care. So currently I am fighting to get my son during the other 50% of our custody because CPS stated because the petitioner placed my son with a family member during her time he wasn't in danger like the other children were…. This also makes no sense to me…. So I was forced into going back to court and filing an emergency custody to get my son 100% until we can actually go to court.

 

[adjusterjack]

Is your son with you now?

If not, take the court order and go get him.

If you expect hostility, you might ask the police department to provide an officer to accompany you.

 

[Tax Counsel]

And why did you try to sneak it past with an ex parte motion that your ex wouldn't know about?

The OP is in California, and ex parte motions are not the same there as in other states. CA rule of court 3.1203 provides that the other party must, except in exceptional circumstances, be notified no later than 10 am of the court day prior to the day the hearing is scheduled. In many states, including mine, an ex parte motion is one that is heard without at least one of the parties being notified of the hearing. That is not the case in CA. I'd liken it more to an emergency motion request where I practice.

 

[zddoodah]

We petitioned for ex parte and do not know if it was denied or approved.

We? There generally is no "we" in a family law action.

In any event, the document you attached is an order issued by the court. It says the following:

• Until the hearing on 10/6/22, the respondent has physical custody of the minor child identified in item 3a.
• The person whose name is crossed out in item 3 has no visitation with that child pending further hearing.
• Any other orders requested were denied.

Also, you didn't cross out one of the party's names in item 6.

why did you try to sneak it past with an ex parte motion that your ex wouldn't know about?

Why would you think that the other party wouldn't know about an ex parte application? Courts won't even consider an ex parte application unless the applicant provides a declaration that proper notice was giving to the opposing party.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Why would you think that the other party wouldn't know about an ex parte application? Courts won't even consider an ex parte application unless the applicant provides a declaration that proper notice was giving to the opposing party.

In California, that's true. It is not true in a number of other states, however, including mine. In my state, an ex parte request is one that is made excluding one or more other parties. If the other party is notified, its not an ex parte request. The circumstances in which that may be done are quite limited. Of course, that means that ex parte requests in my state are much less common than in yours.