An attorney for two Utah grandparents is calling a ruling by the Utah Supreme Court a "banner decision" for the rights of grandparents to visit their grandchildren.

In a unanimous decision issued Friday, the state's top court ruled that Utah's Grandparent Visitation Statute is constitutionally in line with a U.S. Supreme Court decision outlining the rights of fit parents to make decisions for their children.

"This gives hope to a lot of grandparents," said attorney J. Bruce Reading. "If a parent of their grandchild somehow inappropriately restricts any kind of visitation, (grandparents) have recourse."

The case involves a legal battle between the maternal grandparents of a girl who is now 10 and her father. Darryl Thurgood objected to visitation by the grandparents, but a district judge ordered such.

Reading said that after the girl's mother died, the girl lived with her maternal grandparents for four years before Thurgood stepped in and took custody. Thurgood could not reach an acceptable visitation schedule with the grandparents. Meanwhile, the Utah Court of Appeals reversed the district court's order. That court held that the court abused its discretion by ordering make-up visitation in excess of the number of visits necessary to remedy a backup of unfulfilled visits.

Thurgood challenged the court's order and the constitutionality of Utah's Grandparent Visitation Statute, claiming the law infringed upon his right as a fit parent to make decisions he believes are best for his child.

A district court judge rejected Thurgood's stance, finding there was a "bond of love and affection between (the child) and both of her maternal grandparents." The court said this evidence overcame Thurgood's parental presumption and that visitation was in the child's best interest.

Reading said Utah's courts have taken the standard of deciding what is in the child's best interest, rather than what is in the best interest of a parent or grandparent, especially in contentious legal fights.

Although Utah's law does not automatically grant visitation to grandparents, it does leave recourse through the courts. Reading said the court must review a long list of items before it can make a decision and the parent still has the presumption that his decisions are what are best for the child.

The district court "acted within its discretion when it superceded Mr. Thurgood's decision by ordering grandparent visitation based on the child's best interests," wrote Chief Justice Christine Durham in the unanimous decision.

Reading said his office plans to send a letter to Thurgood's attorney, asking that visitation begin as soon as possible. Thurgood has since moved out of state.

Thurgood's attorney could not be reached for comment.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com