Gary Stocklaufer called me this afternoon with some bad news.
Judge John O’Malley has refused him a re-hearing in the matter of adopting Baby Max, saying “the petitioners were given a full and fair opportunity to present all evidence regarding this matter, which resulted in a finding by the Court that placing the child in the custody of the Petitioners would not be in the child’s best interest.”
Gary and Cindy are at the end of their rope, having spent over $10,000 and exhausting their savings to fight for their son. Now, they’ve hired a new attorney and hope to appeal the decision. What isn’t being taken into account here are the wishes of the birth mother, who personally asked Gary and Cindy to take care of Max.
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, if Gary’s weight was the only reason the court used as an excuse not to allow him to adopt Max, then all his efforts to lose that weight — including gastric bypass surgery at Renaissance Hospital in Dallas — should be taken into account.
Judge O’Malley should give Gary and Max another chance.