Karyl Clarke v. Tanesha White

Las Vegas, Nevada family law lawyers represented husband and wife in a child custody dispute.







Clarke and White were never married but have one minor child together, T.C., a daughter born in 2016.[1] The couple had a tumultuous relationship, eventually separating in April 2020. The parties' separation followed an incident that occurred on April 28, 2020, when Clarke allegedly held a butcher knife to White's neck and choked her in her apartment. Clarke tried to stop White from calling for help by taking her phone, along with her son's phone,[2] and blocking her from leaving the apartment. White attempted to retrieve the phones from Clarke and, during the struggle, she managed to escape, run outside, and use a stranger's phone to call the police. Clarke then took T.C. outside, placed her in the car, and as he ran around to get into the driver's seat, White pulled the child out of the vehicle. Clarke then drove away with the apartment keys, stranding both White and their child outside the locked apartment late at night. T.C. was wearing only a shirt and panties, with no pants, socks, shoes, or a jacket.



Following the April 28, 2020, incident, White obtained a temporary protection order (TPO) against Clarke, which summarily granted White "temporary physical custody of the minor child." Clarke then moved to dissolve the TPO, and on May 27, 2020, both parties attended a hearing on Clarke's motion. During the hearing, the hearing master explained that although he did not find White's claim that Clarke had held a knife to her throat credible, he found that an act of domestic violence had occurred, a threat of domestic violence existed, or Clarke posed a credible threat to the safety of White or their child. As a result, the hearing master extended the TPO for six months, until October 31, 2020. Sometime thereafter, White moved to Ohio with T.C. Clarke moved to lift the TPO before the six months expired. The TPO was dissolved on August 13, 2020, when White failed to attend another scheduled hearing to determine whether the TPO should be lifted.



Before the TPO was dissolved, on June 22, 2020, Clarke filed a complaint for custody, but Clarke was unable to locate White to personally serve her. Clarke later requested to serve White by publication, and the court granted this motion on September 30, 2020. Eventually a clerk's default was entered against White on November 19, 2020, after she failed to appear in the case. In a subsequent ex parte motion for return of T.C., Clarke claimed that White had abducted T.C. and that he was unaware of their whereabouts.



About a year after the clerk's default was entered, the district court entered a default decree of custody on October 26, 2021, based on White's failure to appear in the proceedings. The default decree was issued based on the pleadings and papers submitted, with the court not considering any explanations for White's absence, as she had not appeared in the case to present any arguments. As part of the default decree, the district court found White's domestic violence allegations in her TPO application to be false and awarded Clarke sole legal and physical custody of T.C. after analyzing NRS 125C.0035(4)'s best interest factors. On the same day the court issued the default decree, the court also entered an order resolving Clarke's motion for return of T.C, which required White to produce T.C. before the court on November 17, 2021, or, in the alternative, authorized Clarke to pick up T.C. with the assistance of law enforcement provided that Clarke advised the court when he obtained physical custody. Subsequently, Clarke left Nevada and relocated to Ohio, allegedly to search for T.C.



Clarke v. White, 86068-COA, 86069-COA (Nev. App. Nov 15, 2024)

Affirmed