CHRISTOPHER v. v. ERICA O.

── CHRISTOPHER v. v. ERICA O. ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE In re the Matter of: CHRISTOPHER V., Petitioner/Appellee, v. ERICA O., Respondent/Appellant.1 No. 1 CA-CV 25-0655 FC FILED 04-15-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. FC2024-092397 The Honorable William R. Wingard, Judge VACATED AND REMANDED IN PART COUNSEL Bishop Del Vecchio & Beeks Law Office, PC, Phoenix By Daniel P. Beeks Counsel for Petitioner/Appellee Berkshire Law Office, PLLC, Tempe By Keith Berkshire, Alexandra Sandlin Counsel for Respondent/Appellant 1 To safeguard the identities of minor children, it is ordered that the clerk of this court shall amend the caption (and the short caption) of this appeal as shown. It is further ordered that the amended caption shall be used on all future documents filed in this matter.  CHRISTOPHER V. v. ERICA O. Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Judge Cynthia J. Bailey delivered the decision of the Court, in which Acting Presiding Judge D. Steven Williams and Judge Angela K. Paton joined. B A I L E Y, Judge: ¶1 This appeal challenges the adequacy of the superior court’s findings supporting its orders on legal decision-making authority and parenting time. Because the court failed to make specific findings on domestic violence and drug use as required by Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) §§ 25-403, 25-403.03, and 25-403.04, we vacate the legal-decision- making and parenting-time orders and remand for reconsideration and appropriate findings. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 Erica O. (“Mother”) and Christopher V. (“Father”) were in a relationship from 2009 to 2012, and had two children: Daughter, born in early 2010, and Son, born in late 2012. By informal agreement, Mother and Father shared substantially equal parenting time and responsibilities for many years after their breakup. ¶3 In mid-2024, after Mother unilaterally changed the children’s schools, Father initiated a paternity action asking the court to formally order joint legal decision-making authority and equal parenting time. Mother responded and asked for sole legal decision-making authority and majority parenting time, alleging that Father committed domestic violence against both her and the children. ¶4 The matter proceeded to trial in early 2025. At trial, Mother testified that when she was pregnant with Daughter fifteen years earlier, Father (1) set a gun on a table in front of her to prevent her from leaving during an argument; (2) months later, forcibly slapped her face; and (3) on a different occasion, threatened suicide, choked her, and dragged her. She further testified that Father choked her not long after Son’s birth, when she was holding Son. Mother’s former employer testified that he saw cuts and bruises on Mother’s body and face at least three separate times in 2009, and Mother’s sister testified that she saw scrapes and redness on Mother’s body and face in 2010. 2  CHRISTOPHER V. v. ERICA O. Decision of the Court ¶5 Mother also testified that Father attacked her after their breakup. She testified that at a late-2016 child exchange, Father pushed her, pinned her to the ground, and tried to choke her, and then punched her car door when she left with the chi