Audra McGee v. Jamie McDowell

Waynesburg, Pennsylvania family law lawyers represented the parties in a child custody dispute.



Father and Audra McGee (Mother) are the parents of an eight-year-old son, C.M. (Child), who was born in January 2017. On March 29, 2022, Mother filed a complaint for custody in which she sought primary physical custody of Child.[2] See Complaint for Custody, 3/29/22, at 2; id. at 3 (requesting the

"court grant [Mother] PRIMARY physical and legal custody of [C]hild, C.M., and partial physical custody to [Father]").



On February 7, 2023, the parties entered into a consent order which provided for equally shared physical custody, on a "3-4/4-3 schedule, alternating weekly." Interim Custody Consent Order, 2/7/23, at 4. The parties also agreed Child would "be enrolled in the Uniontown School District." Id. at 3. As the order was entered on an interim basis, the trial court scheduled a status conference for July 24, 2023. On June 20, 2023, the court "sua sponte continue[d] the [s]tatus [c]onference" to July 31, 2023. Order, 6/20/23.



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Legal issue Can a hearing officer, rather than a trial court, decide issues of primary physical custody under Pennsylvania law?



Key Phrases Primary physical custody. Hearing officer decision. Statutory custody factors. Trial court error. Custody hearing procedure.

Vacated and remanded.