Devillier v. Smith

665 So. 2d 71, 1995 WL 673282
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 9, 1995
Docket95 CA 0846
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 665 So. 2d 71 (Devillier v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Devillier v. Smith, 665 So. 2d 71, 1995 WL 673282 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

665 So.2d 71 (1995)

Joseph D. DEVILLIER, et al.
v.
Jeffrey James SMITH.

No. 95 CA 0846.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 9, 1995.

*72 Ralph D. Hillman, Thibodaux, for Plaintiffs-Appellants, Joseph D. Devillier, et al.

Stephen E. Caillouet, Thibodaux, for Defendant-Appellee, Jeffrey J. Smith.

Before CARTER and PITCHER, JJ., and CRAIN[1], J. Pro Tem.

HILLARY J. CRAIN, Judge Pro Tem.

Jeffrey James Smith and Gwendolyn Georgette Devillier (Gigi) were married in December, 1988. Gigi Devillier Smith was from Thibodaux, Louisiana where the couple married. Immediately after the wedding they established a residence in Lewiston, Maine, where Mr. Smith was employed. Their daughter, Regina was born on March 18, 1992. Mrs. Smith died on January 5, 1993. The Smiths lived in Maine continuously throughout their marriage; Regina was born in Maine, and Mrs. Smith died in Maine.

It is undisputed that on several occasions after their daughter's death, Mr. and Mrs. Devillier kept Regina at their Thibodaux home for extended periods of time in order to assist their son-in-law, Jeffrey Smith, who was devastated by his wife's death. Mr. Smith continued living and working in Maine and was having difficulty making suitable child care arrangements for Regina due to the various shifts he was required to work. Regina also was cared for by her maternal aunt and uncle who reside in Maine. With the consent of Mr. Smith, Regina lived with the Devilliers in Thibodaux from October of 1993 to October, 1994. In October or early November, 1994, Regina returned to Maine with her father with the approval of the Devilliers. None of the parties allege that Regina was forcefully moved from one state to another, nor has any custody decree been rendered involving Regina's status in any court in any state.

On January 6, 1995, the Devilliers filed a petition for custody in the district court of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA). Mr. Smith filed the declinatory exception raising the objection of lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The trial court sustained the exception. The Devilliers have appealed. The sole issue before us is whether the trial court correctly declined to exercise jurisdiction in this child custody dispute.

*73 UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION ACT

This action was brought under La.R.S. 13:1700-1724, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA). The primary purposes for the enactment of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act are set forth in La.R.S. 13:1700(A) in part, as follows:

(1) Avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody which have in the past resulted in the shifting of children from state to state with harmful effects on their well-being.
(2) Promote cooperation with the courts of other states to the end that a custody decree is rendered in that state which can best decide the case in the interest of the child.
(3) Assure that litigation concerning the custody of a child takes place ordinarily in the state with which the child and his family have the closest connection and where significant evidence concerning his care, protection, training, and personal relationships is most readily available, and to assure that the courts of this state decline the exercise of jurisdiction when the child and his family have a closer connection with another state.

A Louisiana court which is otherwise competent to adjudicate child custody has jurisdiction to make a child custody determination under the UCCJA if Louisiana is the home state. La.R.S. 13:1702(A)(1). A Louisiana court also has jurisdiction if it is in the best interest of the child for a court of this state to assume jurisdiction because the child and his parents or the child and a contestant have a significant connection with this state and there is substantial evidence available in this state to be considered in making a custody determination. La.R.S. 13:1702(A)(2).

The home state is automatically given jurisdiction because theoretically "the court of the home state is in the best position for evidence gathering and for exercising continuity of control, so that when the home state has jurisdiction, courts of other states should generally defer to and cooperate with that jurisdiction." Revere v. Revere, 389 So.2d 1277, 1279 (La.1980). The state with significant connection also has a basis for jurisdiction because of its "superior access to evidence concerning the child's care, training, well being and personal relationships." Id. at 1279-1280. Jurisdiction may exist in two different states under the home state and significant connection standards. Under these circumstances the state with significant connections need not always defer to the home state. Id. at 1280. Where both states present a legitimate claim of significant connection, a comparative determination must be made of which state has maximum connection with the child. Tabuchi v. Lingo, 588 So.2d 795 (La.App. 2d Cir.1991).

The trial court found Louisiana was the home state and thus had jurisdiction under the UCCJA[2]. The court additionally determined that both Louisiana and Maine had significant connection with the child thus giving Maine comparative jurisdiction. A comparative analysis of the "significant contacts" of Louisiana and Maine was performed[3]. The court found that the only contact with Louisiana was the temporary residence of Regina with the Devilliers and "[a]ll of the other contacts and all of the other information having to do with the fitness of Jeff Smith to continue as a parent to this child are in the State of Maine." Thus, the court granted the exception.

From the facts and circumstances presented we find no error in the trial court's determination that Maine possessed maximum contacts and optimum access to relevant evidence about Regina and her family when *74 compared to those contacts possessed by the State of Louisiana. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. Costs are assessed against the Devilliers.

AFFIRMED.

APPENDIX A

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
THE COURT:
The law in this case is very clear, as far as how it applies to the facts of the case. The law clearly requires the application of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act to the case. And as a result of that, the Court is required to make several inquiries. First inquiry under Art. 1702 in determining jurisdiction is to determine if this state is the home state of the child at the commencement of the proceeding, or had been the home state of the child within six months before commencement and the child is absent because of his removal by a person claiming his custody and a parent or person acting as parent continues to live in this state.
It's necessary in applying that statute to the facts of the case to look at the definitions of the terms `home state,' the definition of the term `person acting as parent.' From the facts, that are really not in dispute, that the child came to Louisiana, or left Louisiana in October of 1994, and the suit, petition was filed in January 1995, certainly that means that the action was commenced beginning with a period less than six months after the child left the State of Louisiana. And certainly Mr. and Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
665 So. 2d 71, 1995 WL 673282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/devillier-v-smith-lactapp-1995.