Fether v. McDew

Summary

The Court held that the Family Court abused its discretion by entering a default custody judgment without determining the children’s best interests under the applicable statutory factors. The later denial of the motion to reopen did not cure that error because the Family Court still failed to conduct the required best-interests analysis. The default judgment was vacated, the related orders were reversed, and the matter was remanded for a full hearing on the parties’ custody-modification motions.