In an unprecedented ruling for New York state, Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge H. Patrick Leis III granted a former Long Island couple and their former neighbor, with whom they had a polyamorous relationship, “tri-custody” of their 10-year-old son. Nice.
Dawn and Michael Marano married in 1994 and conducted a “conventional marriage,” according to the New York Post, until they became friends with their downstairs neighbor, Andrea Garcia, in 2001 and, “began to engage in intimate relations,” with her. Garcia soon moved upstairs. According to court papers, Dawn Marano was infertile, which factored somewhat into Michael and Garcia deciding to have a baby together, but it was agreed that all three of the adults would raise the child together.
The situation was working, for a time, then it imploded, at least for the guy. Garcia and Dawn Marano left Michael so they could become a twosome. Michael sued Garcia for custodyy of their son, and Dawn sued Michael for divorce. The custody case went to trial after Dawn filed a custody bid said and Michael opposed it.
Judge Leis cited a ruling from last summer, Brooke S.B.—which allows nonbiological or adoptive parents to seek custody of a child, given a prior relationship—in awarding Dawn shared custody. Leis called tri-custody a “logical evolution” of the Brooke S.B. decision as well as the passage of the Marriage Equality Act and Domestic Relations Law, according to the New York Law Journal.
Leis wrote in his decision that the child’s, “best interests cry out for an assurance that he will be allowed a continued relationship with [the] plaintiff. No one told these three people to create this unique relationship. Nor did anyone tell [the] defendant to conceive a child with his wife’s best friend or to raise that child knowing two women as his mother.”
The two women involved in he case were “thrilled” with the outcome, but not so much Michael. He plans to appeal the decision.