The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed today in Jeffers v. McLeary, a case in which the Father appealed an amended final judgment of paternity on the grounds that the Court was required to take evidence from each party regarding timesharing. The Father failed to appear for the contempt hearing from which a Final Judgment of Paternity issued, but timely filed a motion for rehearing or to vacate seeking to offer testimony on the issue. In an opinion authored by Judge Ciklin, the Court ruled that, in this very narrow set of facts relating only to timesharing, the Court should have held a hearing to consider the Father’s evidence as to timesharing, so that the eventual ruling would be sure to conform with the best interests of the minor child.
