JENNIFER WILSON, PETITIONER,
v.
ROBERT ZAMBITO, RESPONDENT
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Jennifer Wilson challenged a trial court's assertion of jurisdiction over a paternity action filed in Florida by Robert Zambito regarding their child born in New York. The Fourth District Court of Appeal held that Florida lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the child had not lived in Florida for the required six months under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA), and therefore Florida was not the child's "home state."
The court held that Florida lacked subject matter jurisdiction because Florida was not the child's "home state" as defined by the UCCJA. The UCCJA requires that a child have lived in the state for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding the commencement of the proceeding, which Florida had not satisfied.
[1] The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) applies to paternity actions when custody is an issue.
[2] A state is the child's home state for jurisdictional purposes under the UCCJA if the child has lived in that state with a parent for at least six consecutive months immed…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the phrase "home state," as used in the UCCJA, is defined in section 61.1306(5) to mean "the state in which the child, immediately preceding the time involved, lived with his or her parents, a parent, or a person acting as parent for at least 6 consecutive months ...."”
Establishes the controlling definition of "home state" under the UCCJA that determines subject matter jurisdiction in custody and paternity matters.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA child was born in Rochester, New York in 1998 and lived there with her mother until the mother relocated to Florida in February 2000. In May 2000, Z…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
Jennifer Wilson (the mother) seeks review of a nonfinal order of the Broward County circuit court denying her motion to dismiss petition to establish paternity for lack of jurisdiction. We have certiorari jurisdiction, see Snider v. Snider, 686 So. 2d 802, 803 n. 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), and grant the petition.
The child in question was born in Rochester, New York, in 1998, and lived there with her mother all her life until the mother relocated to Florida in February 2000. In May 2000, Robert Zambito filed a petition in the Broward County circuit court to establish paternity and seeking visitation rights. The mother, appearing specially to determine the issue of jurisdiction, filed a motion to dismiss, inter aha for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming that Zambito failed to comply with the Florida Statutes and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA); that the court was without jurisdiction because Florida was not, nor had it ever been, the child’s home state, pursuant to section 61.1808(l)(a)l & 2, Florida Statutes; that she intended to return to New York and had never made Florida her domicile; that any order regarding custody would be reversible because of the father’s failure to file a UCCJA affidavit with his petition; and that it was in the child’s best interest that paternity proceedings have their jurisdiction in Rochester, New York, where the child had lived her whole life, with the exception of the past three months. Zam-bito’s amended petition acknowledged that the mother and child indeed had moved to Florida only in February. The mother moved to dismiss the amended petition as well. She and the child returned to the state of New York in June 2000.
After holding an evidentiary hearing, in which the mother attempted to show that she did not have the intention of changing her domicile to Florida and Zambito attempted to show her actions indicated that she did, the trial court concluded that Florida was the child’s home state at the time the proceeding was filed and denied the mother’s motion to dismiss.
The UCCJA applies to paternity actions when custody is an issue. See Keveloh v. Carter, 699 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). One of the alternative bases for a court of this state to have subject matter jurisdiction to make a child custody determination is if this state is the home state of the child at the commencement of the proceeding. See § 61.1308(l)(a)l, Fla. Stat. (1999). That is the basis upon which the trial court found that it had jurisdiction in the order on review. However, the phrase “home state,” as used in the UC-CJA, is defined in section 61.1306(5) to mean “the state in which the child, immediately preceding the time involved, lived with his or her parents, a parent, or a person acting as parent for at least 6 consecutive months .... ” (Emphasis added). It is clear from the evidence, as well as from the parties’ pleadings, that Florida was not the child’s home state, as so defined, at the time the paternity proceeding was filed.
Accordingly, we grant the mother’s petition and quash the order denying her motion to dismiss.
WARNER, C.J., STONE and FARMER, JJ., concur.
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Sanchez v. Fernandez, 915 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…sidency of the child, custody is not an issue and the UCCJEA is inapplicable. This court has held that “[t]he UCCJA2 applies only to the issue of custody.” Patterson v. Tomlinson, 875 So. 2d 646, 647 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004);3 see also Wilson v. Zambito, 773 So. 2d 581, 582 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (“The UCCJA applies to paternity actions when custody is an issue.”). In Keveloh v. Carter, 699 So. 2d 285, 287 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), the fifth district held that, because the UCCJA applies to paternity actions where custody…
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Schaffer v. Ling, 76 So. 3d 940 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)…e proposed a time-sharing plan for visitation with the child. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order granting the mother’s motion to dismiss. Relying on Munnerlyn v. Wingster, 825 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002), and Wilson v. Zambito, 773 So. 2d 581 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000), the court reasoned that even though the child was conceived in Florida, the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction under the UC-CJEA. The court dismissed the proceeding, prompting this appeal. The issue of whether the F…
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Benson v. Evans, 901 So. 2d 893 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…on. Under the provisions of section 61.514, Florida Statutes (2004), the circuit court was without jurisdiction to take this case. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act “applies to paternity actions when custody is an issue.” Wilson v. Zambito, 773 So. 2d 581, 582 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). The child has resided in Texas for over three years with petitioner, a “person acting as a parent” within the meaning of section 61.503(13), Florida Statutes (2004), so there is no jurisdiction under section 61.514(1)(a). B…
Authorities Cited
- Snider v. Cornelia N. Snider, 686 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
- Keveloh v. Carter, 699 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)