This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.
Facts
The case concerns a custody dispute over a minor child. The parents married in New Mexico in 1998, moved to Missouri, and separated before the child’s birth in 1999. The mother returned to New Mexico before the child was born, while the father initiated divorce and custody proceedings in Missouri. After the child’s birth, the Missouri court awarded custody to the father, but the mother appealed, and the Missouri Court of Appeals later dismissed the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. Subsequently, both parents filed competing custody petitions in Missouri and New Mexico, leading to conflicting custody orders (paras 2-9).
Procedural History
- Circuit Court of St. Charles County, Missouri, January 10, 2000: Awarded custody of the child to the father, with visitation rights for the mother (para 3).
- Missouri Court of Appeals, March 13, 2001: Held that the mother was not properly served and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (para 3).
- Circuit Court of St. Charles County, Missouri, March 14, 2001: Issued an ex parte order granting custody to the father and restraining the mother from removing the child from Missouri (para 4).
- District Court of Grant County, New Mexico, March 23, 2001: Granted temporary custody of the child to the mother (para 5).
- Circuit Court of St. Charles County, Missouri, June 29, 2001: Determined Missouri was the child’s home state and the appropriate forum for custody issues (para 8).
- Circuit Court of St. Charles County, Missouri, October 10, 2001: Affirmed its June 29, 2001, judgment and denied the mother’s motion to set it aside (para 8).
- District Court of Grant County, New Mexico, January 22, 2002: Affirmed its earlier rulings that New Mexico was the child’s home state and had jurisdiction over custody (para 9).
Parties' Submissions
- Appellant (Father): Argued that Missouri was the child’s home state under the Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (CCJA) and that the Missouri court had jurisdiction over custody matters. He contended that the New Mexico court erred in exercising jurisdiction while proceedings were pending in Missouri (paras 6, 10-17).
- Appellee (Mother): Claimed that New Mexico was the child’s home state and that the Missouri court’s prior orders were void due to lack of jurisdiction. She argued that the New Mexico court properly exercised jurisdiction (paras 7, 15).
Legal Issues
- Did the District Court of Grant County, New Mexico, err in exercising jurisdiction over the custody dispute while proceedings were pending in Missouri?
- Was Missouri the child’s home state under the Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (CCJA)?
Disposition
- The Court of Appeals of New Mexico reversed the Grant County district court’s decision and directed it to stay further proceedings until the Missouri court declined jurisdiction or was ordered to relinquish it by a Missouri appellate court (para 18).
Reasons
Per A. Joseph Alarid J. (Wechsler and Robinson JJ. concurring):
The court held that the Grant County district court erred in exercising jurisdiction over the custody dispute. Under the CCJA, a New Mexico court cannot exercise jurisdiction if a custody proceeding is already pending in another state that is exercising jurisdiction in substantial conformity with the CCJA. The Missouri court had jurisdiction because Missouri was the child’s home state, as the child had lived there with the father for over six months before the mother returned to New Mexico. The Grant County court improperly excluded the child’s time in Missouri from its home state determination. The New Mexico court was required to stay its proceedings and communicate with the Missouri court, which had not declined jurisdiction. Therefore, the Missouri court’s jurisdiction took precedence (paras 10-17).