Surrogate Mother Draws Praise in Custody Fight : Courts: Cynthia Moschetta says it would be ‘a tragedy’ if ex-husband wins legal case.

A divorced couple and the woman they hired six years ago to bear their child shared a tense reunion Monday in Orange County Superior Court as testimony continued in the latest chapter of a custody battle for the little girl.

Visibly uncomfortable, Cynthia Moschetta took the stand Monday to testify that surrogate mother Elvira Jordan has been a loving, capable parent for 5-year-old Marissa Jordan Moschetta. A few feet away, Robert Moschetta--who is now locked in a legal fight with Jordan for the girl--avoided eye contact with his ex-wife and took notes.

Cynthia Moschetta said it would be “a tragedy” if her former husband were successful in ending the shared custody privileges Jordan, 46, won in a 1991 court decision.

Noting that the witness appeared upset, Judge John C. Woolley urged Jordan’s attorney to cut short the questioning of Cynthia Moschetta, which he said lingered too much on the case’s old wounds and already resolved legal issues.

“This isn’t a counseling program, this is a trial,” Woolley told attorney Diane Marlow, later adding that he did not want to add to the “embarrassment and emotional upheaval” already suffered by the witness.

The confusing and at times explosive legal wranglings over the girl’s custody began with the divorce of Robert and Cynthia Moschetta in 1990. The Santa Ana couple had paid Jordan $10,000 to have their baby, but the apartment manager then balked at the deal, saying she had agreed assuming the child would have a stable, two-parent home environment.

The three-way custody case that followed included mudslinging and personal attacks, such as a highly charged moment when Cynthia Moschetta ripped her husband’s toupee off in court while television crews for a national news show were filming. The case ended with Jordan and Robert Moschetta being awarded shared custody.

An appeals court returned the case to Orange County last year for another review of custody rights and visitation guidelines between Robert Moschetta, 39, and Jordan. The trial began last week and is expected to end this week.

Jordan also testified Monday, saying she had adopted a strategy of ignoring or sidestepping Robert Moschetta and his new wife when it came to taking Marissa on vacations or deciding some preschool issues. She said dodging confrontations spares the child the stress of seeing her bicker with Moschetta.

A court-appointed psychiatrist testified last week that Marissa would be likely to suffer emotional problems if she continued to share time with Jordan. Psychiatrist Debra A. Hill said Jordan’s narcissism and parenting faults could set the girl up for failure. She also cited Jordan’s guilty plea in a 1992 welfare fraud case as another negative influence on the child.