Recent Case by Jonathan Scofield Marshall
In 1978, Burke Anthony Bergeron Jr. and Marie Bergeron McLee were divorced. McLee was awarded sole custody of their two year old child, as per the divorce judgment. On August 8, 1984, after three unsuccessful attempts to gain sole custody of the child, Bergeron filed this, his fourth petition. In this action the trial court set aside the original sole custody decree and entered a joint custody decree, without requiring Bergeron to show a change in circumstances materially affecting the welfare of the child. The court of appeals affirmed, but the Louisiana Supreme Court, while recognizing the trial court's continued modification powers in a child custody suit, reversed and held that before the court could determine whether a significant change of the custody order is justified, there must first be a showing of a change in circumstances materially affecting the welfare of the child. Bergeron v. Bergeron, 492 So. 2d 1193 (La. 1986).
About the Author
Jonathan Scofield Marshall.
Citation
61 Tul. L. Rev. 1225 (1987)