Gordius v. Kelley
Annotate this CaseKelley and Gordius had a romantic relationship for 10 years before they married in May 2012. Gordius’s child was born in July 2011, while the two were together but unmarried. Although they had been living together for several years, Pennartz is the child’s biological father. Before Gordius and Kelley were married, a court determined Pennartz’s paternity, awarded shared parental rights and responsibilities, and granted Gordius primary residence of the child and Pennartz weekly contact. While Gordius and Kelley lived together before their October 2013 breakup, Kelley was very close to and supportive of Gordius’s child. When Gordius filed for divorce, Kelley moved to modify the parental rights and responsibilities order, claiming status as a de facto parent. The court consolidated the divorce and that motion, preliminarily granted Kelley de facto parent status, and awarded him the right to have contact with the child. In its final order, the court stated that it “remains convinced . . . that Mr. Kelley has undertaken a permanent, equivocal, committed, and responsible parental role in the child’s life . . . and that Mr. Kelley’s exclusion from [the child’s] life will hurt the child,” but concluded that Kelley failed to establish his status as a de facto parent because the “circumstances cannot be deemed exceptional.” The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated, noting that key factual findings were in conflict.
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