Kimberly S. Lopez and Peter J. Allsot v. Naseem Latif

Summary

The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal held that temporary emergency jurisdiction under the UCCJEA was not required to domesticate and enforce an existing out-of-state child custody order when the petition did not seek to modify the order. The court reversed the denial of relief and remanded for consideration of enforceability under section 61.526, Florida Statutes. The court rejected the appellants' remaining arguments without discussion.

Holdings

1. Temporary emergency jurisdiction under section 61.517, Florida Statutes, is not required when the petition seeks only to domesticate and enforce an existing home-state custody order and does not seek to make or alter a custody decision, even temporarily.
2. The circuit court erred by denying the enforcement petition for lack of temporary emergency jurisdiction and must instead consider whether the out-of-state custody order is enforceable under section 61.526.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a Florida court must analyze a petition to domesticate and enforce an existing out-of-state child custody order under the UCCJEA's enforcement provision rather than the temporary emergency jurisdiction provision.
2. Whether temporary emergency jurisdiction is required when a Florida court is asked only to enforce, and not modify, an existing custody determination made by the child's home-state court.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded