Rohmiller v. Hart
Annotate this CaseKelli Rohmiller was the sister of the mother of B.H. After B.H.'s mother died, B.H.'s father, Andrew Hart, was awarded custody of B.H. Rohmiller and her father, Clayton Rohmiller, subsequently petitioned the district court for visitation with B.H. The court jointly granted Rohmiller and Clayton unsupervised visitation with B.H. and provided that Rohmiller could exercise visitation without the presence of Clayton. Hart objected to Rohmiller's independent visitation with B.H. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's grant of visitation to Clayton but reversed the award of visitation to Rohmiller, holding that Minn. Stat. Ann. 257C.08 does not extend visitation rights to aunts generally and that she had no right to visitation under Minnesota law apart from the statute. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) an aunt who does not stand in loco parentis with a child has not right under Minn. Stat. Ann. 257C.08 to visitation with the child over the objection's of the child's fit parent; and (2) an award of visitation outside of section 257C.08 and the common law and over the objections of a child's fit parent cannot be based solely on what is in the best interests of the child.
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