Huss v. Weaver
Pennsylvania Superior Court
134 A.3d 449 (2016)
Amy Huss (plaintiff) and James Weaver (defendant), while dating, signed a contract providing that if they had a child, Huss would have physical custody and Weaver would have visitation, with Weaver (a well-paid attorney) obligated to pay Huss $10,000 for each modification attempt he brought in court. After their child was born, Weaver petitioned for custody the following month without paying Huss the $10,000. Huss sued for breach of contract, and the trial court dismissed her complaint, finding the $10,000 provision void as against public policy; Huss appealed.
Whether a contract in which one parent agrees to pay a fee each time he seeks to modify an agreed custody arrangement is void as against public policy, given that the right to custody (unlike child support) belongs to the parent rather than the child.