Opinion
No. 275, 2000.
June 14, 2001.
Appeal from the Family Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County. File No. CN93-07312.
AFFIRMED.
Unpublished Opinion is below.
WILLIAM J. WEBB, JR., Respondent Below-Appellant, v. TRACY G. PFUSCH, Petitioner Below-Appellee. No. 275, 2000. Supreme Court of Delaware. Submitted: May 4, 2001. Decided: June 14, 2001.
Court Below: Family Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County. File No. CN93-07312.
Before VEASEY, Chief Justice, WALSH, and HOLLAND, Justices.
ORDER
This 14th day of June 2001, upon consideration of the appellant's opening brief and the record on appeal, it appears to the Court that:
The appellee elected not to file an answering brief on appeal. On May 4, 2001, this Court ordered that the matter be considered on the basis of the opening brief and the Family Court record.
(1) The appellant, William Webb, filed this appeal from an order of the Family Court, dated May 8, 2000, which granted sole legal custody and primary residential custody of the parties' two minor children to the appellee, Tracy Pfusch. The Family Court also declined to address Webb's visitation rights because of a prior PFA order against Webb, which had been entered on September 17, 1999 and had suspended Webb's visitation rights for a twelve-month period.
(2) On appeal, Webb contends that the Family Court erred by basing its custody decision on Webb's guilty plea to burglary and assault. The victim of Webb's crimes was Pfusch. Webb does not contest that he pled guilty to the charges on March 16, 2000 and was incarcerated as a result. He claims, however, that his convictions were not final at the time of the May 8, 2000 custody hearing and, therefore, should not have been considered by the judge.
Webb also contends that the Family Court erred in awarding sole custody to Pfusch because her testimony at the custody hearing was false.
(3) After careful consideration of Webb's claims, we find no merit to any of his contentions. Webb's claims of false testimony are completely unsubstantiated, and there was sufficient evidence to support the Family Court's findings of fact. Moreover, Webb's guilty pleas to acts of domestic violence properly controlled the Family Court's decision to award custody of the children to Pfusch. Accordingly, we find that this matter should be affirmed on the basis of the Family Court's well-reasoned decision dated May 8, 2000.
See 13 Del. C. § 705A.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the decision of the Family Court is AFFIRMED.