JAMES FARRELL, APPELLANT,
v.
ADELLA FARRELL, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1989-12-12
No. 89-772
Before BASKIN, FERGUSON and COPE, JJ.
555 So. 2d 1260 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1989) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

In this child custody jurisdictional dispute, the Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's determination that Florida lacks jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act because Massachusetts is the children's home state. The court rejected the husband's argument for concurrent jurisdiction under the statute.


Holding

Florida does not have jurisdiction over the custody matter. Massachusetts is the home state of the children under the statute, and the trial court properly determined that Florida lacks concurrent jurisdiction. The temporary custody arrangement should remain unchanged, with the parties appearing in the Massachusetts court for further proceedings.


Headnotes

[1] A Florida court may decline to exercise jurisdiction over a child custody matter if it determines that another state is the more appropriate forum, even if concurrent jur…

[2] Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, a state may be considered the "home state" of a child if the child has lived there for at least six consecutive months i…

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Key Quotes

“The parties agree that Massachusetts is the home state of the children for purposes of paragraph 61.1308(l)(a), Florida Statutes. The husband contends, however, that Florida has concurrent jurisdiction through the provisions of paragraph 61.1308(1)(b).”

Establishes the legal issue: whether Florida has concurrent jurisdiction despite Massachusetts being the home state

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Facts & Procedural History

The parties had a custody dispute involving two minor children. The mother initially removed the children from Florida to Massachusetts without approv…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The husband appeals the trial court’s order determining that it does not have jurisdiction pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, § 61.1302—.1348, Fla.Stat. (1987). The parties agree that Massachusetts is the home state of the children for purposes of paragraph 61.-1308(l)(a), Florida Statutes. The husband contends, however, that Florida has concurrent jurisdiction through the provisions of paragraph 61.1308(1)(b). See Newcomb v. Newcomb, 507 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). The trial court conducted an extensive evidentiary hearing on the issue, and as there is competent substantial evidence to support the trial court’s conclusion, we affirm.1

The parties disagree over the interpretation of the trial court’s order. As we interpret the order, upon our affirmance there is to be no immediate change in the temporary custody arrangement. Instead, the husband and the two minor children are to appear at such hearing as is set by the Massachusetts court for that court’s determination of the remaining issues in the case. It is apparent from the record that the Florida and Massachusetts trial courts consulted appropriately prior to the decision below, see § 61.1314(3), Fla.Stat., from which we conclude that the Massachusetts court was in accord with this procedure.2

Affirmed.3

FERGUSON and COPE, JJ., concur. . Given the trial court’s view of the facts, it also appears likely that, had the trial court concluded that Florida has concurrent jurisdiction, the court would nonetheless have determined that Massachusetts is the more appropriate forum. See §§ 61.1314(3), 61.1316, Fla.Stat.; Hickey v. Baxter, 461 So. 2d 1364 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).

. The record reflects that an order granting temporary custody to the mother was entered in the Massachusetts action under circumstances which were in essence ex parte. The mother withheld from the Massachusetts court the information that there was already a Florida action pending. It is evident that after the Florida and Massachusetts judges became fully apprised of the existence of the two actions, and after consultation with each other, the consensus was to treat the Massachusetts interim custody order as a nullity. For that reason the later Florida order specifies that the father and children will appear at the Massachusetts hearing when scheduled, rather than ordering an interim change in custody. We do not, of course, intimate any view on the merits of the custody dispute, nor do we mean to suggest that there will be any limitation on the authority of the Massachusetts court hereafter to proceed as it sees fit.

.In the present case each party, on a separate occasion, removed the children from a jurisdiction without approval. Although the wife initially removed the children from Florida and concealed their whereabouts, the husband eventually learned their location, visited them in Massachusetts, and acquiesced in their presence there for over a year prior to bringing the present action. In that fashion Massachusetts became the home state of the children. See § 61.1308(1)(a), Fla.Stat. (1987). The husband eventually removed the children without permission to Florida, where they have continued to reside pursuant to court order pending resolution of this litigation. In these circumstances the trial court did not rest its ruling on section 61.1318, Florida Statutes.

Concurrence
BASKIN, Judge

BASKIN, Judge

(concurring).

I agree with the majority opinion and write separately only to emphasize the point that although this case is properly set before the Massachusetts court under its special circumstances, removing one’s child from the jurisdiction without permission is not an approved method for transferring jurisdiction to courts of another state.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Young v. Hector, 740 So. 2d 1153 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)
    …lution proceeding which led to the husband’s summary eviction from the marital home. Acquiescence to the child custody arrangement can and has been found to be an important factor of various aspects of child custody problems. See Farrell v. Farrell, 555 So. 2d 1260, 1261 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Berhow v. Crow, 423 So. 2d 371, 373 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); In re Marriage of Feig, 296 Ill.App.3d 405, 230 Ill.Dec. 685, 694 N.E. 2d 654, 657 (1998); In re Marriage of Jackson, 682 N.E. 2d 549 (Ind.Ct.App.1997); Wright v. Sto…
  • Mirtha Castellvi Alvarez v. Alvarez, 566 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
    …n erroneous determination that Florida was the home state, and as having determined that "significant connection” jurisdiction under paragraph 61.-1308(l)(b) was not available, or would not be exercised. Id. at 269. See generally Farrell v. Farrell, 555 So. 2d 1260, 1261 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (recognizing possibility of concurrent jurisdiction); Nelson v. Nelson, 433 So. 2d at 1020 (same). .Some decisions suggest that the showing required in order to establish jurisdiction under the “significant connection” test…
  • R.P.M. Enters., Inc. v. Bertram Murphy and Barbara Murphy, 575 So. 2d 1347 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    …ad not complied. Contrary to R.P.M.’s contentions here, we conclude that there is substantial competent evidence in the record to support the trial court's finding. That being so, the judgment will not be disturbed on appeal. See Farrell v. Farrell, 555 So. 2d 1260 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Ren-Del Enterprises, Inc. v. Florida Keys First State Bank, 539 So. 2d 541, 542 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (“A finding of the trial court on disputed facts in a non-jury trial will not be disturbed by a reviewing court where the finding…

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