Meadows v. Meadows , 246 N.C. App. 245 ( 2016 )


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  •                  IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA
    No. COA15-527
    Filed: 15 March 2016
    Granville County, No. 13-CVD-44
    MELISSA ALLISON MEADOWS, Plaintiff-Appellee
    v.
    BEN JAMIN HOWARD MEADOWS, II, Defendant-Appellant
    v.
    GLORIA MEADOWS, Intervenor
    Appeal by defendant from order entered 16 September 2014 by Judge Carolyn
    J. Yancey in Granville County District Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 3
    November 2015.
    Batten Law Firm, P.C., by Holly W. Batten, for plaintiff-appellee.
    Dunlow & Wilkinson, P.A., by John M. Dunlow, for defendant-appellant.
    No brief for Intervenor.
    CALABRIA, Judge.
    Ben Jamin Meadows (“defendant”) appeals from an initial custody order
    awarding primary and legal custody of Billy1 to Melissa Allison Meadows (“plaintiff”)
    and supervised visitation to defendant. We affirm.
    I. Background
    1   A pseudonym is used to protect the minor’s identity.
    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    Plaintiff and defendant (collectively, “the parties”) were married on 6 October
    2007. The parties had one child, Billy, born on 30 September 2011. Defendant’s
    mother, Gloria Meadows (“Intervenor”) provided substantial assistance in caring for
    Billy for extended periods of time while plaintiff dealt with certain mental health
    issues. After the parties separated on 14 January 2013, plaintiff and Billy lived with
    plaintiff’s parents and continued living with plaintiff’s parents through the custody
    and visitation hearings, which concluded on 5 August 2014.
    Plaintiff filed a complaint on 14 January 2013 for post-separation support,
    alimony, child custody, child support, and equitable distribution. On 22 January
    2013, the parties agreed in a memorandum of order that plaintiff would have
    temporary custody and defendant would have supervised visitation of Billy.
    Intervenor filed an amended motion for intervention to “pursue a custody claim for
    the minor child, or in the alternative, a claim for grandparent visitation.”2 In another
    memorandum of order that modified the prior order, defendant was to have
    supervised visitation with Billy for up to two hours each week at the Supervised
    Visitation Center in Burlington, North Carolina.
    Following hearings, the trial court entered an order on 16 September 2014
    giving, inter alia, “primary legal and physical custody” of Billy to plaintiff, and
    limiting defendant’s visitation rights to “supervised visitation at the [Family Abuse
    2   Intervenor is not involved in this appeal.
    -2-
    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    Services center (“FAS”)] in Burlington, North Carolina every other Sunday for up to
    two (2) hours.” The trial court’s unchallenged findings of fact relevant to this appeal
    are as follows:
    38. The minor child herein is a well-adjusted toddler with
    normal ailments as well as normal physical and emotional
    development.
    39. During his infancy years to current date, the minor
    child has been surrounded by family who love and care for
    him. As reasonably expected during Plaintiff’s manic
    episodes, this same family came together to “assist” in
    caring for the minor child. Their effort is a testament of
    love and support rather than attempt to alienate the minor
    child from either parent.
    40. During the entire trial, the Defendant did not appear
    nor did he provide any sworn testimony as to his own
    fitness and best interests of the minor child herein.
    41. . . . . The Defendant’s legal counsel has had ample
    opportunity, however, [to] develop testimony and evidence
    throughout these proceedings via Plaintiff’s and
    Intervenor’s cases-in-chief. . . . [T]he [c]ourt was still left
    without sufficient evidence of the Defendant’s character,
    temperament and abilities to support and care for the
    minor child herein.
    42. At best attempt to deduce any evidence as to
    Defendant’s parenting abilities, the [c]ourt considered the
    verified pleadings of his own mother, the Intervenor[,]
    wherein she alleged and subsequently testified about a
    period of time when “That Defendant fully acquiesced in
    Intervenor’s care of Little [Billy] and deferred principal
    caregiving duties for the child to Intervenor.” Within the
    same pleadings, the Intervenor alleged that her son was
    “immature” and unable to adequately care for the minor
    child herein.
    -3-
    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    43. Otherwise, the [c]ourt cannot assume facts not in
    evidence of his fitness and ability to care for this toddler
    beyond the existing “temporary” supervised visitation
    schedule and how the Defendant interacts under strict
    guidelines of a visitation agency such as FAS.
    ....
    45. When Plaintiff separated from Defendant, Plaintiff
    hired Derek Ellington with Ellington Forensics, Inc. to
    inspect the parties’ computer and other hard drives for
    evidence of [Defendant’s] infidelity.
    46. Mr. Ellington regularly reviews photos and other data
    images and is bound by N.C.G.S. § 66-67.4, which requires
    any processor of photograph images or any computer
    technician who, within the person’s scope of employment,
    observes an image of a minor or a person who reasonably
    appears to be a minor engaging in sexual activity shall
    report the name and address of the person requesting the
    processing of the film or owner of the computer to the Cyber
    Tip Line at the National Center for Missing and Exploited
    Children or to the appropriate law enforcement official in
    the county in which the image or film was submitted.
    47. After reviewing the content and data on one of the hard
    drives, Mr. Ellington contacted Plaintiff’s counsel, and
    Plaintiff’s   counsel    contacted    Creedmoor      Police
    Department.
    48. After reviewing a small sample of the images on the
    hard drives, Detective Ricky Cates of the Creedmoor Police
    Department issued a search warrant to seize the computer
    and hard drives.
    49. During his deposition on June 19, 2013, the Defendant
    was specifically asked certain questions by Plaintiff’s
    counsel regarding images on the computer and other hard
    drives seized by the police, including questions about
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    creating pornographic images of children, and Defendant
    refused to answer any of the questions pertaining to that
    subject during . . . Defendant’s [d]eposition[].
    50. Intervenor does not believe that Defendant has an issue
    with child pornography and stated during her deposition
    and under oath during her testimony herein that “She
    would not believe it even if someone told her.”
    51. Despite the [c]ourt’s previous instructions to supervise
    the visits between the Defendant and minor child,
    Intervenor admittedly did not follow the [c]ourt’s directive.
    Her actions under the circumstances demonstrated
    inconsistency with her verified pleadings of “abandonment,
    neglect and unfitness” as it relates to Defendant.
    52. The [c]ourt makes the determination that a
    psychological evaluation of the Defendant is necessary
    before    unsupervised     visitation   occurs.       The
    evaluation/examination should include the [c]ourt’s entire
    record for examination by a licensed psychologist.
    53. Pursuant to a Memorandum of Judgment/Order
    entered on April 16, 2013 the Defendant was allowed
    certain visitation periods with the minor child that were to
    be supervised by and occur at the Family Abuse Services
    center (hereinafter FAS) in Burlington, Alamance County,
    North Carolina[.]
    54. In the interim, the [c]ourt makes the determination
    that pending the [c]ourt’s receipt of Defendant’s evaluation
    results, supervised visitation periods should continue at
    FAS.
    55. The [c]ourt makes the determination that the
    supervised visitation schedule as provided in the April 16,
    2013 Memorandum of Judgment/Order provides
    reasonable visitation privileges for the Defendant absent
    any evidence regarding his parenting abilities beyond the
    said pre-existing temporary arrangements.
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    Based upon these findings, the trial court concluded in relevant part:
    3. It is in the best interest of the minor child herein that
    his primary legal and physical custody be with the
    Plaintiff.
    4. The Defendant is entitled to access and reasonable
    visitation with his minor child unless this [c]ourt finds
    Defendant has forfeited the privilege by his conduct or
    unless the exercise of that privilege would injuriously affect
    the welfare of the child. In re Custody of Stancil, 10 N.C.
    App[.] 545, 
    179 S.E.2d 844
    (1971).
    Based upon these findings and conclusions, the trial court ordered in relevant
    part:
    1. Primary legal and physical custody of the minor child
    . . . is hereby placed with Plaintiff subject to supervised
    visitation with the Defendant herein.
    2. The Defendant shall exercise supervised visitation at the
    FAS in Burlington, North Carolina every other Sunday for
    up to two (2) hours.
    3. The Intervenor shall exercise visitation at such time as
    the Plaintiff deems appropriate. Otherwise, Intervenor’s
    claims for custody and/or visitation are hereby dismissed
    and denied.
    4. The Defendant shall attend and successfully complete a
    mental health evaluation and follow any and all
    recommendations from said evaluation.            Further, a
    licensed psychologist shall assess among other things, the
    Defendant’s parenting abilities. The [c]ourt’s future review
    and/or consideration of the Defendant’s increased
    visitation shall require the [c]ourt’s receipt and review of
    the Defendant’s psychological report and parenting
    assessment.
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    5. While Plaintiff’s allegations of inappropriate conduct by
    the Defendant, specifically child pornography, were not
    substantiated herein[,] the [c]ourt hereby orders a
    complete forensic evaluation of the offer of proof regarding
    criminal investigations and material recovered from the
    Defendant’s computer. The outcome of said evaluation
    shall be a necessary condition of any pleading to modify the
    supervised visitation herein.
    Defendant appeals.
    II. Analysis
    On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred by (1) failing to “make
    detailed findings of fact to resolve a material, disputed issue raised by the evidence;”
    (2) determining that defendant “failed to offer any direct competent evidence for the
    court’s consideration;” and (3) denying defendant “reasonable visitation with
    [defendant’s] minor child without finding that [defendant] was an unfit person to visit
    with the child or that such visitation would injuriously affect the welfare of the child.”
    We disagree.
    A. Standard of Review
    As an initial matter, “[t]he welfare of the child has always been the polar star
    which guides the courts in awarding custody.” Pulliam v. Smith, 
    348 N.C. 616
    , 619,
    
    501 S.E.2d 898
    , 899 (1998) (citation omitted). “Any order for custody shall include
    such terms, including visitation, as will best promote the interest and welfare of the
    child.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(b) (2015). Further:
    It is well settled that the trial court is vested with broad
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    discretion in child custody cases. The decision of the trial
    court should not be upset on appeal absent a clear showing
    of abuse of discretion. “Findings of fact by a trial court
    must be supported by substantial evidence.” Substantial
    evidence has been defined as “such relevant evidence as a
    reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a
    conclusion.” “A trial court’s findings of fact in a bench trial
    have the force of a jury verdict and are conclusive on appeal
    if there is evidence to support them.” However, the trial
    court’s conclusions of law must be reviewed de novo.
    McConnell v. McConnell, 
    151 N.C. App. 622
    , 626, 
    566 S.E.2d 801
    , 804 (2002) (internal
    citations omitted). Unchallenged findings of fact are binding on appeal. Thomas v.
    Thomas, __ N.C. App. __, __, 
    757 S.E.2d 375
    , 378 (2014) (citation omitted).
    In the conclusion of defendant’s brief, defendant purports to be challenging the
    trial court’s findings of fact #40, #41, #42, #43, #44, #52, #54, and #55. However,
    defendant only specifically argued in the body of his brief that findings of fact #41
    and #44 were unsupported by competent evidence. The remaining findings that
    defendant did not specifically argue lacked evidentiary support have been abandoned
    and are binding on appeal. See In re P.M., 
    169 N.C. App. 423
    , 424, 
    610 S.E.2d 403
    ,
    404-05 (2005) (deeming findings of fact binding, although specifically challenged on
    appeal, because the party abandoned her appeal of those findings by “fail[ing] to
    specifically argue in her brief that [the findings] were unsupported by evidence”); see
    also N.C.R. App. P. 28(b)(6) (2015) (“Issues not presented in a party’s brief, or in
    support of which no reason or argument is stated, will be taken as abandoned.”).
    B. Findings of Fact Unsupported by Evidence
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    Defendant contends that two of the trial court’s findings of fact are not
    supported by competent evidence. Specifically, defendant argues that there was no
    competent evidence to support the portion of finding of fact #41 that states: “While
    [defendant’s] attendance [at the hearing] was not required by any statute or legal
    argument to the [c]ourt, he failed to offer any direct competent evidence for the
    [c]ourt’s consideration[,]” and finding of fact #44, which states: “Other than the
    information provided about his participation in visitation under supervised
    conditions, the [c]ourt has not received any competent evidence as to his parental
    abilities, responsibilities, and best interest of the minor child as it relates to the minor
    child herein.”
    In the instant case, defendant did offer competent evidence by introducing
    testimony by Jennifer Stillman, Program Coordinator with FAS, as well as by
    introducing the records and notes from FAS relating to defendant’s interaction with
    Billy. According to this evidence, defendant acted appropriately when interacting
    with Billy and never violated any FAS guidelines during supervised visitation. In
    addition, defendant was deposed, and his deposition was admitted into evidence.
    Although defendant never personally appeared at the hearing, he did offer competent
    evidence by way of Stillman’s testimony, the FAS records, and his deposition.
    However, even assuming, arguendo, that both findings are not supported by
    competent evidence, it is of no consequence to the instant case. The remaining
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    binding findings of fact, cited above, are sufficient to support the trial court’s
    judgment and for our review of defendant’s additional arguments. See In re Custody
    of Stancil, 
    10 N.C. App. 545
    , 549, 
    179 S.E.2d 844
    , 847 (1971) (“Immaterial findings of
    fact are to be disregarded.” . . . . “It is sufficient if enough [m]aterial facts are found
    to support the judgment.”). Therefore, we overrule defendant’s argument.
    C. Failure to Resolve Material, Disputed Issues Raised by the Evidence
    Defendant contends that the trial court erred by failing to make sufficient,
    detailed findings of fact resolving the issues raised by the evidence of whether child
    pornography was found on defendant’s computer. We disagree.
    As defendant correctly points out,
    a custody order is fatally defective where it fails to make
    detailed findings of fact from which an appellate court can
    determine that the order is in the best interest of the child,
    and custody orders are routinely vacated where the
    “findings of fact” consist of mere conclusory statements
    that the party being awarded custody is a fit and proper
    person to have custody and that it will be in the best
    interest of the child to award custody to that person. A
    custody order will also be vacated where the findings of fact
    are too meager to support the award.
    Dixon v. Dixon, 
    67 N.C. App. 73
    , 76-77, 
    312 S.E.2d 669
    , 672 (1984) (citations omitted).
    Defendant contends that the 16 September 2014 order did not resolve the issues
    surrounding allegations that defendant was viewing and storing child pornography
    on his computer.
    In Dixon, this Court addressed a somewhat analogous situation as follows:
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    Plaintiff testified that defendant had started abusing the
    child when it was an infant, that he once observed her
    jabbing the child’s buttocks with a diaper pin, and several
    times returned home from work to find defendant beating
    their child. Two former baby-sitters for the child gave
    testimony relating to the defendant’s abuse of her child,
    and both of defendant’s parents testified that defendant
    was too strict with her son, although they denied ever
    having seen evidence of mistreatment. According to a
    letter to the court from the Onslow County Department of
    Social Services, which letter evaluated each parent’s
    fitness for custody, the department had received three child
    abuse reports on the defendant, two of which were
    substantiated.
    The only findings of fact potentially addressing the
    defendant’s tendency to corporally punish her child in an
    abusive way is the finding that defendant enrolled in two
    courses designed to improve her knowledge and
    understanding of how to cope with physiological,
    psychological, nutritional and medical problems associated
    with child rearing, and further findings that defendant
    stated she now uses “less force” in dealing with her son,
    and that she intends to continue whatever further training
    might be necessary to make her a better mother.
    
    Id. at 78,
    312 S.E.2d at 672-73. The Dixon Court then reasoned:
    Any evidence of child abuse is of the utmost concern in
    determining whether granting custody to a particular
    party will best promote the interest and welfare of the
    child, and it is clear that the findings of fact at bar do not
    adequately resolve the issue of child abuse raised by the
    evidence in the record. We do not here imply that the
    evidence establishes that defendant is currently abusing
    her child, nor do we hold that any evidence of child abuse
    means that the abusing parent has permanently forfeited
    any right to ever gain custody. We do hold, however, that
    the nature of child abuse, it being such a terrible fate to
    befall a child, obligates a trial court to resolve any evidence
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    of it in its findings of fact. This was not done and the order
    is therefore vacated and the case remanded for a new
    hearing on the issue of custody.
    
    Id. at 78-79,
    312 S.E.2d at 673.       When making custody determinations, it is
    imperative that a trial court makes sufficient findings of fact concerning issues
    related to the health and safety of the children involved. Whether a parent is viewing
    and storing child pornography, akin to whether a parent is physically abusive, is
    certainly critical to a trial court’s determination of whether to grant custody to a
    particular party and is of the utmost concern to the health and safety of a child in
    that parent’s control.
    There are, however, major differences among the facts in Dixon and the facts
    in the instant case. In Dixon, the trial court awarded custody of the child to the person
    accused of the abuse and made no findings directly addressing the accusations of
    abuse. 
    Id. at 75,
    312 S.E.2d at 671. In the instant case, the trial court did not award
    custody, or even unsupervised visitation, of Billy to the parent accused of the
    inappropriate conduct, and the trial court directly addressed the issue of the child
    pornography allegations. The trial court found that, because defendant refused to
    answer questions related to those allegations in his deposition, and because he failed
    to testify or present any other evidence relevant to those allegations at the hearing,
    the trial court had insufficient evidence from which to make a determination.
    Because the trial court did not have all the information it required, due in part to
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    defendant’s decision not to fully participate in the proceedings, the trial court
    continued to limit defendant’s visitation with the child to supervised visits at FAS.
    The trial court clearly stated that it would revisit its imposition of limited supervised
    visitation once defendant obtained a full “psychological report and parenting
    assessment,” and when the trial court obtained a “complete forensic evaluation of the
    offer of proof regarding criminal investigations and material recovered from . . .
    [d]efendant’s computer[.]”
    Furthermore, although “[a custody order] must resolve the material, disputed
    issues raised by the evidence,” Carpenter v. Carpenter, 
    225 N.C. App. 269
    , 273, 
    737 S.E.2d 783
    , 787 (2013), “[a] trial court’s inability to determine the fitness of a parent
    is an adequate basis for not awarding custody to that parent.” Qurneh v. Colie, 
    122 N.C. App. 553
    , 558, 
    471 S.E.2d 433
    , 436 (1996). The trial court’s findings of fact were
    sufficiently detailed regarding the allegations of defendant’s use and possession of
    child pornography, based upon the evidence the trial court had before it. 
    Id. at 76-
    77, 312 S.E.2d at 672
    . These findings are sufficient for our review of the trial court’s
    best interests determination. 
    Id. Therefore, we
    overrule defendant’s challenge.
    D. Denial of Reasonable Visitation
    Defendant contends the trial court erred in “denying [him] reasonable
    visitation with the . . . child without finding that [he] was an unfit person to visit with
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    the child or that such visitation would injuriously affect the welfare of the child.” We
    disagree.
    N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.5(i) (2015) states:
    In any case in which an award of child custody is made in
    a district court, the trial judge, prior to denying a parent
    the right of reasonable visitation, shall make a written
    finding of fact that the parent being denied visitation rights
    is an unfit person to visit the child or that such visitation
    rights are not in the best interest of the child.
    This Court has reasoned:
    The right of visitation is an important, natural and legal
    right, although it is not an absolute right, but is one which
    must yield to the good of the child. A parent’s right of
    access to his or her child will ordinarily be decreed unless
    the parent has forfeited the privilege by his conduct or
    unless the exercise of the privilege would injuriously affect
    the welfare of the child, for it is only in exceptional cases
    that this right should be denied. But when it is clearly
    shown to be best for the welfare of the child, either parent
    may be denied the right of access to his or her own child.
    
    Stancil, 10 N.C. App. at 550
    , 179 S.E.2d at 848 (citation omitted). Defendant argues
    that the trial court failed to find either that he had forfeited his rights to unsupervised
    visitation, or that unsupervised visits would not be in Billy’s best interest. For this
    reason, defendant contends, the trial court was without authority to impose the
    restrictions on his visitation that were included in the 16 September 2014 order.
    However, this Court has recognized that refusal by a parent to provide information
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    that is necessary for a trial court to make custody-related determinations can serve
    as a basis to deny that parent certain rights.
    In Qurneh v. Colie, this Court addressed the impact of a natural parent
    invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the context of a
    custody hearing:
    The privilege against self-incrimination is intended to be a
    shield and not a sword. Here, the plaintiff attempted to
    assert the privilege as both a shield and a sword.
    In an initial custody hearing, it is presumed that it is in the
    best interest of the child to be in the custody of the natural
    parent if the natural parent is fit and has not neglected the
    welfare of the child. Plaintiff sought to take advantage of
    this presumption by introducing evidence of his fitness.
    See Wilson v. Wilson, 
    269 N.C. 676
    , 677, 
    153 S.E.2d 349
    ,
    351 (1967) (holding that in order to be entitled to this
    presumption, the natural parent must make a showing
    that he or she is fit). However, when the defendant sought
    to rebut this presumption by questioning the plaintiff
    regarding his illegal drug activity, the plaintiff asserted his
    fifth amendment privilege. To allow plaintiff to take
    advantage of this presumption while curtailing the
    opposing party’s ability to prove him unfit would not
    promote the interest and welfare of the child. N.C. Gen.
    Stat. § 50-13.2(a)(1995).
    
    122 N.C. App. 553
    , 558, 
    471 S.E.2d 433
    , 436 (1996) (some citations omitted). The
    Qurneh Court went on to hold:
    In a related argument, plaintiff contends that the trial
    court improperly concluded that it could not determine
    plaintiff’s fitness. A trial court’s inability to determine the
    fitness of a parent is an adequate basis for not awarding
    custody to that parent. In this State, evidence of a parent’s
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    prior criminal misconduct is relevant to the question of the
    parent’s fitness. Due to the plaintiff’s refusal to answer
    questions regarding illegal drug use, trafficking and other
    drug involvement, the trial court was unable to consider
    pertinent information in determining plaintiff’s fitness. As
    a policy matter, issues such as custody should only be
    decided after careful consideration of all pertinent evidence
    in order to ensure the best interests of the child are
    protected. Plaintiff’s decision not to answer certain
    questions relating to his past illegal drug activity by
    invoking his fifth amendment privilege prevented the court
    from determining his fitness and necessitated the
    dismissal of his claim.
    
    Id. at 558-59,
    471 S.E.2d at 436 (citations omitted) (emphasis added).
    In the instant case, as in Qurneh, defendant is attempting to use his
    unwillingness to provide certain evidence to the trial court, mainly through his
    refusal to testify regarding the child pornography allegations, as a means of attacking
    the lack of such evidence to support the order. We hold that the trial court did not
    err in making its visitation determinations based upon its inability to determine
    defendant’s fitness as a parent. 
    Id. We again
    note that the trial court has clearly
    stated in its order that it will revisit the issue of visitation once defendant has
    obtained a psychological evaluation and a parenting assessment, and once the court
    obtains the results of “a complete forensic evaluation of the offer of proof regarding
    criminal investigations and material recovered from [d]efendant’s computer.”
    Therefore, defendant’s argument is overruled.
    E. Correction of Clerical Error
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    MEADOWS V. MEADOWS
    Opinion of the Court
    Defendant contends the trial court erred by reducing his supervised visitation
    privileges to a greater degree than those privileges that the parties agreed to in the
    16 April 2013 memorandum order. Specifically, defendant challenges the trial court’s
    finding of fact #55, which provided that “the supervised visitation schedule as
    provided in the April 16, 2013 Memorandum of Judgment/Order provides reasonable
    visitation privileges for [defendant],” and its corresponding order that defendant
    “shall exercise supervised visitation at the FAS in Burlington . . . every other Sunday
    for up to two (2) hours.”
    The 16 April 2013 visitation schedule provided for “supervised visitation for up
    to two hours each week[.]” Those visits were ordered “every other Sunday and every
    other Thursday so that [defendant] has up to two hours each week.” In its finding of
    fact #55, the trial court determined that this schedule provided reasonable visitation
    for defendant. However, the trial court ordered in the decretal portion of its order
    that defendant “shall exercise supervised visitation at the FAS in Burlington, North
    Carolina every other Sunday for up to two (2) hours.” Because we can discern no
    reason why the trial court would restrict defendant’s visitation schedule any further,
    we assume this item in the decretal portion of the trial court’s order was a clerical
    error. Therefore, we remand this portion of the order for the limited purpose of
    correcting this error.
    III. Conclusion
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    Opinion of the Court
    The trial court properly entered an initial custody order awarding primary and
    legal custody of Billy to plaintiff and supervised visitation to defendant, until such
    time as the court is able to gather more evidence of defendant’s parenting abilities.
    First, even if the findings of fact challenged by the defendant were unsupported
    by competent evidence, those findings were immaterial in light of the remaining
    findings that were binding on appeal. Second, the trial court’s findings of fact relating
    to the issue of child pornography were sufficiently detailed based upon the incomplete
    evidence presented to the trial court, due in part to defendant’s inability to participate
    in the proceedings. Although the issue of defendant allegedly viewing and storing
    child pornography certainly is critical in determining Billy’s best interest, resolution
    of this issue was not possible because the investigation was incomplete and defendant
    refused to testify. The resolution of the issues raised by the allegations of child
    pornography were not required prior to the trial court granting primary custody to
    plaintiff and continued supervised visitation to defendant. Third, while defendant
    was not required to attend the custody hearings, the trial court had authority to base
    its custody determination in part on its inability to determine defendant’s fitness as
    a parent, which was caused by defendant’s failure to participate fully in the
    proceedings and, specifically, defendant’s refusal to answer questions regarding the
    allegations of child pornography.
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    Opinion of the Court
    Significantly, the trial court invited defendant to return to court for a
    modification of the initial custody order once it was able to gather more evidence of
    defendant’s character, temperament, and ability to support and care for Billy.
    Defendant’s modification depends upon his completion of a mental health evaluation
    and a parenting assessment. Another condition for the modification is a forensic
    evaluation of the offer of proof regarding the criminal investigations of child
    pornography and related material recovered from defendant’s computer. We affirm
    the trial court’s initial custody order and remand for the limited purpose of correcting
    a clerical error in its order to reflect the correct supervised visitation schedule of 16
    April 2013.
    AFFIRMED; REMANDED FOR CORRECTION OF CLERICAL ERROR.
    Judges BRYANT and ZACHARY concur.
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