Dad dubbed unfit parent for refusing son’s pleas for McDonald’s meals

A Manhattan father going through court proceedings with his estranged wife is coming out swinging after a court-appointed counselor, tasked with helping to decide custody, labeled the dad unfit for refusing to take his son to McDonald’s for dinner.

The father, who’s also an attorney, hit back at the therapist with a defamation lawsuit, The New York Post reported.

“You’d think it was sexual molestation” I’d been charged with, said the father-attorney, David Schorr, to The Post. “I am just floored by it.”

Mr. Schorr, a corporate attorney, said in court filing to the Manhattan Supreme Court that psychiatrist Marilyn Schiller sent a report to the judge accusing him of being “wholly incapable of taking care of his son,” and recommending a denial for weekend visits — largely because of his reluctance to eat out at McDonald’s restaurants. The Post reported.

The incident started when Mr. Schorr said he was taking his son, 4, to the Corner Cafe where they normally ate during Tuesday evening visitations. But the boy wanted McDonald’s and threw a temper tantrum, Mr. Schorr said. So Mr. Schorr laid down the law: Pick any place but McDonald’s, or go without dinner, The Post said.

“The child, stubborn as a mule, chose the ’no dinner’ option,” Mr. Schorr said, in court documents. “I think it was a 1950s equivalent of sending your child to bed without dinner. That’s maybe the worst thing you can say about it.” He also said, The Post reported: “I wish I had taken him to McDonald’s, but you get nervous about rewarding bad behavior.”

Once home, the boy told his mother what happened, and she in turn called the psychiatrist, The Post reported. But Mr. Schorr said that Ms. Schiller never asked for his side of the story and only filed information based on his son’s views and his ex-wife’s input.

Ms. Schiller, meanwhile, told The Post that she can’t yet comment. The custody case is due for another court hearing in December.