## Facts

- B.H.’s biological parents were Andrew Hart and B.H.’s mother; Hart was later convicted of malicious punishment of a child.
- After the conviction, B.H. and her mother moved to Iowa to live with B.H.’s maternal grandfather, Clayton Rohmiller.
- B.H.’s maternal aunt, Kelli Rohmiller, lived with B.H. for about five weeks and later saw her approximately eight hours per month.
- After B.H.’s mother died, Hart obtained custody in Iowa, moved with B.H. to Minnesota, and refused further contact between B.H. and the Rohmillers.
- Clayton and Kelli petitioned a Minnesota district court for visitation under Minn. Stat. § 257C.08.
- At the evidentiary hearing, Hart no longer opposed visitation with Clayton under conditions (in Minnesota), and agreed Kelli could be present during Clayton’s visits, but opposed granting Kelli separate court-ordered visitation.

## Issues

1. Whether Minn. Stat. § 257C.08 authorizes court-ordered visitation for an aunt who does not stand *in loco parentis* over the objection of a fit custodial parent.
2. Whether a court may order third-party visitation, over a fit parent’s objection, based solely on the child’s best interests without statutory or recognized common-law authority.

## Decision

- The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals.
- The court held that an aunt who does not stand *in loco parentis* has no right to visitation under Minn. Stat. § 257C.08 over the objection of a child’s fit parent.
- The court held that visitation cannot be ordered outside Minn. Stat. § 257C.08 and recognized common law based only on a best-interests finding when a fit parent objects.
- The denial of Kelli’s independent visitation was upheld; the grandfather’s visitation order was not disturbed.

## Legal Principles

- Third-party visitation in Minnesota is limited to authority granted by statute and narrow, recognized common-law grounds; courts may not expand statutory categories by interpretation.
- Minn. Stat. § 257C.08 does not grant visitation rights to aunts as a general class; an aunt must qualify under a specific statutory basis, such as *in loco parentis*, to seek visitation over a fit parent’s objection.
- *In loco parentis* requires assuming ongoing parental obligations; brief co-residence and periodic contact are insufficient.
- When a parent is fit, a court cannot impose third-party visitation over the parent’s objection solely because it would be in the child’s best interests.

## Conclusion

The court ruled that a fit parent’s decision to deny an aunt independent visitation controls unless the aunt can satisfy an applicable statutory ground (such as *in loco parentis*) or another recognized source of legal authority; a best-interests analysis alone cannot justify court-ordered visitation against the fit parent’s wishes.


Rohmiller v. Hart, 811 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. 2012)