ROBERT ANTHONY PATTERSON, APPELLANT,
v.
LEATHY TOMLINSON, APPELLEE
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A Florida court found a Jamaican resident mother's child to be the biological child of a Florida resident father and determined custody and support obligations. The father challenged the judgment on grounds that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act because the child resided in Jamaica, but the appellate court affirmed the denial of his motion to set aside the judgment.
The trial court had subject matter jurisdiction and the UCCJA requirements were satisfied by the mother's sworn petition. The UCCJA applies only to custody issues, not paternity or support, and jurisdiction for custody exists when it appears no other state would have jurisdiction and it is in the child's best interest. Jamaica, not being a state, does not provide alternative jurisdiction, and the sworn petition established all necessary jurisdictional requirements.
[1] The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) applies only to the issue of child custody, not paternity or child support.
[2] A sworn petition stating the residence of the parties and child, and asserting the best interests of the child, can satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of the UCCJA.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The UCCJA applies only to the issue of custody.”
Establishes the limited scope of UCCJA application, meaning it does not govern paternity or child support determinations.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe mother, a Jamaican resident, initiated a paternity suit against the appellant father. A trial court found the appellant to be the father and deter…
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KLEIN, J.
The appellee mother, a Jamaican resident, initiated this paternity suit in which the appellant was found to be the father, and child support and custody were determined. A few weeks after the final judgment was entered the father filed a rule 1.540 motion to set aside the judgment on the ground that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the child resided in Jamaica. He now appeals the order denying that motion.
The basis of the claim of lack of subject matter jurisdiction was the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA), section 61.1302-1348, Florida Statutes (1998)1. Specifically, the motion alleged that the mother had failed to file a UCCJA affidavit, which was required because the child resided in Jamaica. The motion was the first time that the UCCJA had been raised in the paternity proceeding.
Although the mother did not file a UC-CJA affidavit, she did file a sworn petition stating that both the mother and child had resided in Jamaica at all times since the birth of the child, that the father had at all times resided in Florida, and that this proceeding was in the best interest of the child. Florida was the appropriate forum for establishing paternity and child support.
The UCCJA applies only to the issue of custody. § 61.1308, Fla. Stat. (1997). Jurisdiction for custody under the UCCJA exists if it “appears that no other state would have jurisdiction” and it is in the best interest of the child that a court of this state assume jurisdiction. § 61.1308(l)(d), Fla. Stat. (1998). The sworn petition satisfies these jurisdictional requirements. First, Jamaica is not a state. § 61.1306(10). Second, because the petition stated that the mother and child had at all times resided in Jamaica, and that the father had at all times resided in Florida, the petition met the requirement that it appear “that no other state would have jurisdiction.” § 61.1308(l)(d)l.
We therefore conclude that the UCCJA was satisfied by the sworn petition and affirm the denial of the motion to set aside the judgment.
POLEN and STEVENSON, JJ., concur. . Effective October 1, 2002, the UCCJA was amended as the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and renumbered to sections 61.501.542, Florida Statutes (2002). Because the mother's petition was filed prior to October 1, 2002, the UCCJA, rather than the UCCJEA, applies. See § 61.542, Fla. Stat. (2002).
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Sanchez v. Fernandez, 915 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…e father agrees that the mother should be awarded permanent primary residency 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 he…1 / 2
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Annelise Nissen v. Moreno, 10 So. 3d 1110 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…tirely meritless. The argument is nothing but a red herring. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act applies only when custody is at issue. See Sanchez v. Fernandez, 915 So. 2d 192, 192 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); Patterson v. Tomlinson, 875 So. 2d 646, 647 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004). Custody is not an issue in this case. We therefore conclude that the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction over this action. Reversed.…
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Greene v. McLAUGHLIN, 904 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…ion even though he did not file a UCCJEA affidavit. In this case the mother, who filed the petition for dissolution, did file a proper UCCJEA affidavit which established that the trial court had jurisdiction over custody. See Patterson v. Tomlinson, 875 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) (UCCJEA affidavit requirement satisfied by petition sworn by mother in paternity action which established the facts necessary to give the court jurisdiction over custody). Nor does the mother’s argument that the father failed to…
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