27 Apr 2004
L v. C
- Citation
- L v. C
- Court
- Court of Appeal
- Case number
- CACV333/2003
The appeal was allowed and custody awarded to the respondent (mother) because the judge below gave excessive weight to the status quo and failed to give proper weight to the importance of a natural parent (the mother) being the primary carer; Social Investigation reports supported mother as primary carer and there was no justified finding that the mother's studies would detract from her ability to care for the child; ex parte orders must be sparingly used and do not validate a permanent displacement of custody absent proper consideration.