Leigh v. Chavez

── Leigh v. Chavez ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: May 29, 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 UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.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: CLARYN LEIGH, Petitioner/Appellee, v. RICO CHAVEZ, Respondent/Appellant. No. 1 CA-CV 25-0446 FC FILED 05-29-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. FC2024-090715 The Honorable Michael Valenzuela, Judge AFFIRMED APPEARANCES Rico Chavez, Mesa Respondent/Appellant Claryn Leigh, Mesa Petitioner/Appellee  LEIGH v. CHAVEZ Decision of the Court MEMORANDUM DECISION Presiding Judge Michael J. Brown delivered the decision of the Court, in which Judge Veronika Fabian and Chief Judge Randall M. Howe joined. B R O W N, Judge: ¶1 Rico Chavez (“Father”) appeals the superior court’s order establishing legal decision-making, parenting time, and child support for the child he shares with Claryn Leigh (“Mother”). For the following reasons, we affirm. BACKGROUND ¶2 Father and Mother are the parents of Emily (a pseudonym), who was born in 2016. In February 2024, Mother petitioned to establish legal decision-making, parenting time, and child support. On April 17, 2025, the superior court held a trial on Mother’s petition. ¶3 In the months preceding the trial, Father had several encounters with police. In February 2025, according to police reports, Father tried to steal from two grocery stores in Chandler and Gilbert by pretending to be a store manager; Father was later arrested for attempted theft and impersonation. A few weeks later, police performed several welfare checks on Father at his apartment. Officers responded twice to Father’s apartment after reports from Father’s roommate that Father had been acting erratically and had accused the roommate of taking Emily. Father was taken to the hospital for treatment following the second visit. Two days later, after returning home from the hospital, Father called police claiming Emily was missing and when police arrived they noted that he was disoriented and confused. Police found multiple prescription medication bottles in Father’s apartment. One of these medications had been prescribed three days earlier for 30 pills, but officers found that only 12 remained in the bottle. ¶4 Police had also been involved with Father in early 2024, when Father reported that Emily had been inappropriately touched by Mother’s boyfriend’s son. Police interviewed Emily and later spoke with the son, Mother, and her boyfriend. Officers determined there was no probable cause for any charges related to these incidents. 2  LEIGH v. CHAVEZ Decision of the Court ¶5 In its subsequent ruling, the superior court acknowledged it had considered appointing a court appointed advisor (“CAA”) before issuing final orders, but ultimately “determined that it ha[d] sufficient evidence” based on the trial evidence. Though noting it had some concern about Mother’s home based on the reports of inappropriate touching, it did not find her home was unsafe. Yet the court had “significant concern[s]” about the safety of Father’s home and his lack of “mental fitness to safely care for the child in an unsupervised setting.” The court awarded Mother sole legal decision-making authority, required Father’s parenting time to be supervised,