Rowe v. Franklin
Court of Appeals of Ohio
663 N.E.2d 955 (1995)
After separating from Franklin (defendant), Rowe (plaintiff) moved out of state with their young son for her military job, later became pregnant by a separated (but still married) man, and enrolled in law school while placing the boy in private school during her classes. The trial court, while finding the statutory factors evenly balanced, ultimately awarded custody to the unemployed Franklin based on the child's supposed stronger ties to Ohio and disapproval of Rowe's moves, relationship, and career focus, despite no evidence any of it actually harmed the child; Rowe appealed.
Whether a trial court properly awarded sole custody to the father based on the mother's relocation, her relationship with a separated but still married man by whom she became pregnant, and her focus on career and education, over the unemployed father who remained in the child's original community.