North Dakota Supreme Court

Jerome G. Hoff and Nicolette A. Hoff, Plaintiffs and Appellants v. Holly N. Berg, Defendant and Appellee

June 18, 19991999 N.D. LEXIS 93

Summary

The court held that the 1993 amendment to North Dakota's grandparent-visitation statute violated parents' fundamental liberty interest in controlling their children's associations because it presumed visitation was in the child's best interests and required visitation unless the parent disproved that presumption. The court severed the unconstitutional provisions, left the pre-1993 statute operative, reversed dismissal of the grandparents' complaint, and remanded for proceedings under that earlier version.