Hughes v. Waters

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a district court judgment granting primary residential responsibility of two children to David Hughes. The court held that North Dakota properly exercised jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act because neither California nor North Dakota was the children’s home state, and no other state had superior jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. California's purported exercise of temporary emergency jurisdiction was misplaced because the children were not present in California when the August 2023 ex parte order was issued.
2. North Dakota properly assumed jurisdiction under N.D.C.C. § 14-14.1-12(1)(d) because neither California nor North Dakota was the children's home state, no other court with home-state jurisdiction had declined jurisdiction in favor of North Dakota, and no other court with jurisdiction had declined jurisdiction in favor of North Dakota.
3. The court declined to consider Waters's Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act argument because she provided only a naked reference and did not adequately articulate, support, or brief the alleged violation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the California court's August 2023 ex parte order invoking emergency jurisdiction deprived the North Dakota district court of UCCJEA subject matter jurisdiction when the children were not physically present in California.
2. Whether North Dakota properly assumed initial child-custody jurisdiction under N.D.C.C. § 14-14.1-12(1)(d) when neither state was the children's home state and no other state with jurisdiction had declined jurisdiction in favor of North Dakota.
3. Whether Waters's unsupported reference to the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act warranted reversal.

Disposition

affirmed