In a memorandum seen by the Herald, a lawyer acting for the child said the father\u2019s affidavit about his former partner\u2019s supposed condition was \u201cnot as accurate as it could have been\u201d, while Jenna\u2019s lawyer said the man had \u201cmisled the court\u201d regarding her client\u2019s mental health. <\/p>\n
In a subsequent affidavit, the father said he \u201cdid not mislead the court\u201d.<\/p>\n
After they separated, he Googled a medication she had been taking, Quetiapine, and the online result said it was prescribed for schizophrenia, he claimed.<\/p>\n
He was approached for comment through his lawyer.<\/p>\n
Jenna filed a complaint about the man\u2019s lawyer to the Law Society earlier this year. <\/p>\n
The lawyer told the Herald she had not been contacted by the Law Society regarding a complaint, and she could not comment on matters involving a client.<\/p>\n
\u2018No longer taking her medication\u2019<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s without notice parenting order application was filed on July 17 last year, several weeks after the woman and her partner of more than a decade separated. <\/p>\n
\u201c[Her] behaviour has been more erratic since she left,\u201d his application alleged. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she is no longer taking her medication. The medication is prescribed for schizophrenia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenna later submitted that the medication she had actually stopped taking was for a digestion issue, not the Quetiapine she took for OCD. <\/p>\n
Text messages between the former couple submitted to court showed he was aware of her digestive issue.<\/p>\n
Both Jenna and her former partner made allegations against each other, but the Herald has chosen not to share the claims from either party, as the order was issued due to the false schizophrenia claim.<\/p>\n
After the man\u2019s July 17 affidavit, a Northland judge said: \u201cThe evidence suggests that the mother\u2019s mental health is deteriorating due to non-compliance with medication she is prescribed for schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result, her behaviour is becoming erratic causing concern for [the child\u2019s] safety and wellbeing if in her care. The threshold is met for an order without notice.\u201d <\/p>\n
The judge ordered the child to remain in the father\u2019s care, but the mother would need to be heard and further enquiries made before additional orders were granted.<\/p>\n
No other reason was provided by the judge for granting the order.<\/p>\n
Jenna said she had a \u201cpanic attack\u201d after learning of the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was absolutely devastated that a mental health disorder such as OCD could be so misconstrued simply by the medication.\u201d <\/p>\n
The court decision said non-compliance with the parenting order, which barred her from unsupervised contact, could result in jail time or a $2500 fine. <\/p>\n
What the man did not share in his affidavit was that weeks before the application, he had repeatedly tried to resume the romantic relationship.<\/p>\n
The child\u2019s lawyer later wrote that the man\u2019s messages to Jenna in the weeks after they separated, \u201cgives the impression that … one of the big issues for [him] was resumption of the [relationship], rather than concerns that [she] posed a risk towards [the child]\u201d.<\/p>\n
After the without notice order was granted, Jenna\u2019s lawyer filed an urgent application on July 25 last year for it to be rescinded, and provided a doctor\u2019s letter confirming the woman did not have schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has never been any mentioning of any schizophrenia in any of her notes and she was never treated for this,\u201d the doctor wrote.<\/p>\n
On July 31, a different judge ordered Jenna\u2019s application be served to her former partner\u2019s lawyer before August 6, and scheduled a hearing the following day.<\/p>\n
A copy of that hearing\u2019s judgment noted the father\u2019s claims regarding her mental health had been \u201cclarified\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c[She] has been diagnosed with OCD and is taking medication,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n
The judge then discharged the July 17 parenting order, meaning the child could again stay with the mother. <\/p>\n
While Jenna was relieved the case is over, she worried other women could end up in the same situation.<\/p>\n
\u201c[My ex] can make up all of these claims that I\u2019m erratic, that I take medication for schizophrenia, and a judge was quite happy to use that evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
She feared other mothers with OCD could wrongly be labelled a \u201cdanger\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething as little as a Google search of a medication could result in my child being taken from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Justice was approached for comment. <\/p>\n
*The couple cannot be named for legal reasons.<\/p>\n
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues such as sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the <\/b>Herald <\/b>in 2020.<\/b><\/p>\n