William B. v. Ann R. CA1/3

── William B. v. Ann R. CA1/3 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: May 12, 2026 Category: General Filed 5/12/26 William B. v. Ann R. CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE WILLIAM B., Plaintiff and Respondent, A172909 v. ANN R., (Napa County Super. Ct. Defendant and Appellant. No. 17 FL 000991) Ann R. (Ann), representing herself, appeals an order awarding William B. (William) sole legal and physical custody of their son, J.B.1 She contends 1 To protect the child’s privacy interests, we refer to him by his initials. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.90(b)(1).) We refer to other persons by their first names and last initials where the use of their full name would defeat the objective of anonymity for the child. We deny Ann’s motions to seal the appellate record and treat it as confidential, or alternatively, to seal large portions of the record. The record below does not appear to be filed under seal, and Ann failed to carry her burden to show an overriding interest justifying a sealing order in this court. (McNair v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. (2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 25, 32; NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1178, 1217–1218, 1222, fn. 46 [identifying test for sealing records and identifying examples of circumstances in which there is an overriding interest in closure].) Moreover, except for two briefs from J.B.’s counsel and the statement of decision, she failed to transmit the record to this court in a manner that would preserve the confidentiality of the record lodged, such as 1 the trial court erred by finding she perpetrated an act of domestic violence against J.B. and applying the presumption against awarding her sole or joint custody under Family Code section 3044. (Undesignated statutory references are to this code.) We affirm. BACKGROUND Ann and William were in a relationship in 2007 but never married. J.B. was born in September 2010. Ann and William’s relationship ended in 2016. In November 2017, William filed a petition to establish a parental relationship, as well as joint physical and legal custody of J.B. In his request for order, he alleged Ann had been driving under the influence and abusing alcohol while caring for J.B. By January 2018, William and Ann agreed to joint legal and physical custody, with alternating weekly visitation. They further agreed neither party would consume alcohol at least 24 hours prior to and during their physical custody periods, both parents would submit to labeling the contents as filed “CONDITIONALLY UNDER SEAL” or filing a redacted version. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.46(c); In re Marriage of Lechowick (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 1406, 1415.) We also deny her request for judicial notice of a declaration in support of a request to deposit minor’s counsel fees in a trust pending appeal, notice of a federal tax lien against minor’s counsel, and local rules governing the complaints regarding counsel appointed to represent minors. Those documents have no bearing on the issues on appeal. (Evid. Code, § 452; Mangini v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1057, 1063.) After briefing was completed, Ann filed a motion asking us to consider additional evidence — J.B.’s report card, a school notification regarding J.B.’s failure to atten