John Moix, Appellant v. Libby Moix, Appellee

Summary

The court reversed and remanded a visitation order that permitted expanded visitation but barred the father’s long-term male partner from being present during overnight visits. It held that Arkansas’s policy against unmarried romantic cohabitation is not a categorical rule and that the circuit court had to determine, based on the circumstances and the child’s best interest, whether the restriction was warranted. The court also held that the father preserved this argument and that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the appellee’s challenge to the material-change finding because she had not filed a cross-appeal. Justices Baker and Goodson, joined by Justice Hart, dissented and would have affirmed the restriction or the entire order.