Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed March 15, 2023.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D21-2472
Lower Tribunal No. 21-12-P
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Zachary Rankin,
Appellant,
vs.
Blaine Lounsbury,
Appellee.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Sharon I.
Hamilton, Judge.
Orshan, Spann, & Fernandez-Mesa, and Steven P. Spann, for
appellant.
Nancy A. Hass, P.A., and Nancy A. Hass (Fort Lauderdale), for
appellee.
Before SCALES, MILLER, and BOKOR, JJ.
MILLER, J.
Appellant, Zachary Rankin, the father, challenges a final judgment
establishing paternity and a parenting plan. On appeal, the father contends
the trial court violated his due process rights by awarding appellee, Blaine
Lounsbury, the mother, sole decision-making authority as to the educational
and non-emergency medical needs of the minor child in the event the parties
are unable to agree. In her pleadings and other written submissions, the
mother specifically requested an order “[e]stablishing a parenting plan that
provides for shared responsibility of the minor child, if appropriate,” and
detailed the historical refusal by the father to cooperate in joint decisions.
Further, the issues precipitating this resistance were extensively litigated at
trial. As the decision below is undeniably supported by competent,
substantial evidence, we affirm the well-reasoned order under review in all
respects and write only to commend the trial judge for her judicious handling
of this contentious and difficult case. See Cruz v. Domenech,
905 So. 2d
938, 940 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Moncher v. Maine,
892 So. 2d 1147, 1148–50
(Fla. 5th DCA 2005); see also Regan v. Regan,
660 So. 2d 1166, 1167 (Fla.
3d DCA 1995); Moses v. Moses,
347 So. 3d 385, 390 (Fla. 5th DCA 2021);
Schneider v. Schneider,
864 So. 2d 1193, 1194–95 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004); §
61.13(2)(c)2.(a), Fla. Stat. (2021) amended by ch. 2021-139, § 1, Laws of
Fla.
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Affirmed.
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