SCOTT STANLEY KAISER V EMILY MARIE SCHREIBER
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
SCOTT STANLEY KAISER
FOR PUBLICATION
September 9, 2003
9:00 a.m.
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 244428
Kent County Circuit Court
LC No. 01-006255-DC
EMILY MARIE SCHREIBER,
Defendant-Appellee.
Updated Copy
November 7, 2003
Before: Schuette, P.J., and Sawyer and Wilder, JJ.
SCHUETTE, P.J. (concurring).
I join the majority opinion of Judge Sawyer and join in the decision to reverse the order
of the circuit court granting defendant Emily M. Schreiber summary disposition regarding
plaintiff Scott S. Kaiser's child custody action.
This case concerns whether the undisputed father of a daughter born out of wedlock,
whose mother is married to another man, will have an opportunity to establish a custodial
relationship with his daughter.
The defendant's claims that the answer is no. The correct answer is yes.
In many respects, the facts and circumstances of this case are sad and troubling. Without
a doubt, the outcome of this case, unless reversed by this Court, would be even more
discouraging.
Maria is the daughter of Scott Kaiser, the plaintiff and Emily Marie Schreiber, the
defendant. Both plaintiff and defendant were married to other people when they had an
extramarital relationship. Maria was conceived during this extramarital relationship. Both
parties acknowledge this fact openly, which was substantiated by a paternity test.
Maria was born in June of 1998 and has resided with defendant. On June 19, 2001,
plaintiff filed a complaint seeking custody of his daughter. On August 10, 2001, a temporary
court order granting plaintiff and defendant joint legal custody, permitting plaintiff certain
visitation rights and granting primary physical custody to defendant was entered by the circuit
court. Subsequently, defendant's original attorney withdrew and defendant filed pleadings in
-1-
propria persona attempting to terminate the temporary court order.
terminated.
The order was never
Nothwithstanding a paternity test that established that plaintiff is Maria's father and a
judicial imprimatur, a temporary court order stipulated by both parties, defendant contends that
plaintiff has no standing to maintain a custody action pursuant to the Child Custody Act, MCL
722.21 et seq., and plaintiff cannot amend his pleadings to conform to the Paternity Act, MCL
722.711 et seq. Defendant's argument succeeds only if we ignore both the equities of this case
and the constitutional underpinnings of equal protection under the law, which surround this case.
Were we to adopt defendant's argument, for a plaintiff like Scott Kaiser, the doors to the halls of
justice would be locked shut.
This Court is estopped from disregarding the temporary court order outlining the joint
custodial arrangement between the parties and the test that substantiates plaintiff 's paternity,
which both parties freely acknowledge. The defendant argues that plaintiff is but a stray actor,
an unidentified shadowy figure who, at best, has a mere biological link with Maria. No, Scott
Kaiser is Maria's father.
Similarly, defendant's strained interpretation of the "plain meaning" of the Child Custody
Act and the Paternity Act is a tortured journey that leaves plaintiff a bystander on the wayside of
Michigan's statutory freeways.
Under our system of law, a plaintiff such as Scott Kaiser, armed with a temporary court
order and fortified by a paternity test substantiating his fatherhood, should have standing to
establish a custodial relationship with his daughter. Further, plaintiff should be permitted to
amend his complaint to conform with the Paternity Act should the trial court deem it necessary.
By pursuing reversal of the trial court's decision in this case, Scott Kaiser picked the lock
and opened the doors to the halls of justice. Quite possibly, the equal protection considerations
that are embedded in the facts of this case may permanently open the door to similarly situated
plaintiffs.
/s/ Bill Schuette
-2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.