IN RE BORN/BORN-NAPPIER MINORS
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of COLLEEN JONELL DIONE
BORN and VICTORIAN FRANCIS BORNNAPPIER, Minors.
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,
UNPUBLISHED
November 21, 2006
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 270929
Kalamazoo Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 99-000263-NA
MICHAEL JOHN NAPPIER,
Respondent-Appellant,
and
JOSEPHINE BORN,
Respondent.
Before: Fort Hood, P.J., and Murray and Donofrio, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Respondent Michael Nappier appeals as of right from the trial court’s order terminating
his parental rights to the minor children under MCL 712A.19b(3)(g), (j), and (l). We affirm.
We review the trial court’s decision for clear error. MCR 3.977(J); In re Trejo, 462 Mich
341, 351; 612 NW2d 407 (2000); In re Sours, 459 Mich 624, 633; 593 NW2d 520 (1999). We
therefore defer to the trial court’s factual findings because it is an advantage having actually seen
the parties and witnesses testify. People v Paille, 383 Mich 621, 627; 178 NW2d 465 (1970).
The evidence accepted by the trial court showed that respondent was more preoccupied with his
adult relationships than with the children’s needs, that he lacked stability, and that he was unable
to handle the responsibilities of parenting on his own. The trial court found that respondent
delegated the majority of his parental responsibilities to his girlfriend. Respondent also had a
history of domestic violence and abuse, and was involved in incidents with the children in which
he purposefully broke the children’s radio and physically pushed the children, and crashed his
car into his girlfriend’s car. Respondent did not obtain medical care for the children after these
incidents, despite observing that they were bruised. It is also undisputed that respondent’s
parental rights to another child were previously terminated, and that physical abuse was an issue
-1-
in the prior proceeding. The trial court did not clearly err in finding that the statutory grounds
for termination were established by clear and convincing evidence.
Affirmed.
/s/ Karen M. Fort Hood
/s/ Christopher M. Murray
/s/ Pat M. Donofrio
-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.
