Donart v. Bland CA2/6

Filed 3/18/26 Donart v. Bland CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

KEVIN DONART, 2d Civ. No. B340877 (Super. Ct. No. D370102) Respondent, (Ventura County)

v.

LAURA BLAND,

Appellant.

Kevin Donart (Father) and Laura Bland (Mother) are the parents of a now-13-year-old son, born in December 2012. The trial court’s August 1, 2024 order grants sole legal and physical custody of the child to Father with limited, supervised visitation to Mother. Additionally, the order prohibits any form of contact between the child and his maternal grandparents. Mother appeals, contending the trial court abused its discretion. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History This matter comes to us on an extremely limited record. This is, in this instance, fatal to the appeal. (See, infra, at p. 6.) For example, the trial court’s custody and visitation order appears to have been based, at least in part, on the recommendation of a mental health professional, Dr. Brian Adams. The clerk’s transcript includes an “Agreement re: Custody and Visitation” dated February 8, 2023 that is signed by the parties and Dr. Adams. It does not include a written report or declaration from him. Although Dr. Adams appears to have testified at the hearing, his testimony is not included in the reporter’s transcript. In fact, the record includes a reporter’s transcript of only two days of a multi-day hearing. Mother’s motion to augment the record adds a transcript of the afternoon session of another hearing day, February 21, 2024. While it appears both parties testified at the hearing, the record we have been provided includes only a portion of their testimony. The trial court’s August 1, 2024 Ruling on Submitted Matter summarizes the testimony of Dr. Adams, the visitation monitor, Kelly Unger, parenting plan coordinator, Marcie Kraft, and the parties. Based on this testimony, the trial court identified several concerns relating to the custody of, and visitation with child. The parents did not communicate well on these issues. Mother made parenting choices for the child that were not age appropriate. She bought him toys and wanted him to watch television programs that were intended for toddlers even though he was 11 or 12 years old at the time. Mother often took the child shopping and brought him a toy or other gift at almost every visit.