Funk v. MacAulay

457 N.E.2d 223, 1983 Ind. App. LEXIS 3668
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 12, 1983
Docket2-1281-A-412
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 457 N.E.2d 223 (Funk v. MacAulay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Funk v. MacAulay, 457 N.E.2d 223, 1983 Ind. App. LEXIS 3668 (Ind. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

BUCHANAN, Chief Judge.

CASE SUMMARY

Defendant-appellant Christopher M. Funk (Funk) seeks reversal of a trial court decision finding him in contempt of court for interfering with the custodial rights of Linda Macaulay (Macaulay), focusing his argument on the trial court's jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdietion Act [hereinafter cited as the UCCJA] and the sufficiency of the evidence.

We affirm.

FACTS

In 1971, the Tippecanoe Superior Court entered a divorce decree that awarded Macaulay custody of the parties' two minor children, provided Funk with visitation rights, and ordered Funk to pay child support. Since the divorce, Funk has continued to reside in Indiana. Macaulay and the children, however, established permanent residence in California in 1972.

There has been a running battle between the parties for more than ten years. Both Funk and Macaulay have been found in contempt by Indiana courts for either "child snatching", abuse of visitation, or denial of visitation. Multiple claims and counterclaims for modification of visitation, custody, and support have also been filed by both parties in Indiana.

The chain of events resulting in this appeal began when Funk sought modification of custody in Tippecanoe Superior Court in 1981. Later, he dismissed the petition and refiled it in California (the only contact with the California courts) Before the California custody modification cause was heard, Macaulay filed the present contempt action. Funk's allegedly contemptuous acts included telephoning the children daily in order to encourage the son's truancy and both children's abusive behavior toward their mother. A motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction was denied, and Funk was found to be in contempt. 1

ISSUES

Funk presents two issues which we have restated as follows:

1. Did the trial court properly exercise jurisdiction over the contempt proceeding under the UCCJA and the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act [hereinafter cited as the PKPA]?
2. Was there sufficient evidence to support the contempt judgment?

DECISION

ISSUE ONE-Did the trial court properly exercise jurisdiction over the contempt proceeding under the UCCJA and the PKPA?

PARTIES' CONTENTIONS-Funk posits that this custody proceeding falls within the guidelines of the UCCJA under which California is the proper jurisdictional situs. Macaulay counters that Indiana either has continuing jurisdiction under the UCCJA or *225 may continue to enforce its prior custody order until California modifies the provisions.

CONCLUSION-The trial court properly exercised its continuing jurisdiction over the contempt proceeding under the UCCJA and the PKPA.

To reach our conclusion, we must hurdle two obstacles. The first is whether the UCCJA applies to a contempt proceeding without an accompanying custody modification petition. Because we conclude that it does, our second obstacle is whether the provisions of the UCCJA and the PKPA allow Indiana to exercise jurisdiction.

We face a somewhat novel posture of events in that we must decide whether the UCCJA was intended to apply to a contempt proceeding which is not joined with a petition for modification of custody or visitation. In the past, some courts have taken the position that they may grant relief because they have continuing jurisdiction by virtue of their inherent contempt powers to punish disobedience of or ensure compliance with their earlier orders. See Hogan v. Hogan, (1972) 29 Ohio App.2d 69, 278 N.E.2d 367; Brocker v. Brocker, (1968) 429 Pa. 513, 241 A.2d 336, cert. denied, 393 U.S. 1081, 89 S.Ct. 857, 21 LEd.2d 773. We find this view of continuing jurisdiction improper in light of the express provisions and intent of the UCCJA.

The UCCJA was promulgated to define which state has jurisdiction "to make a child custody determination by initial or modification decree." Ind.Code 81-1-11.-6-8 (1977) (emphasis supplied). A "custody determination" is defined as "a court decision and court orders and instructions providing for the custody of a child, including visitation rights; it does not include a decision relating to child support or any other monetary obligation of any person." IC 31-1-11.56-2(2) (1977) (emphasis supplied). This language is unambiguous-the UCCJA covers all cases involving issues of custody and visitation.

To prevent repetition of Funk's contemptuous behavior, Macaulay sought to limit his telephone conversations with the children to Sundays. Record at 16-17. We recognize that telephone communications are an important facet of "visitation rights" in a parent-child relationship separated by hundreds of miles. Therefore, the relief sought in Macaulay's contempt action comes within the express provisions of the UCCJA in that it seeks to modify visitation rights. Seeking such relief under the guise of a show cause hearing does not affect our decision. We conclude that, when a contempt proceeding is "inextricably interwoven" with matters of custody and visitation, the UCCJA governs any jurisdictional issue. See Siegel v. Siegel, (1981) 84 Ill.2d 212, 228, 49 IIl.Dec. 298, 305, 417 N.E.2d 1312, 1319. This view ensures that all custody and visitation matters are litigated in the proper forum, as set forth in the UCCJA.

Having decided that this case falls within the domain of the UCCJA, we now concentrate on selection of the correct jurisdiction. Instead of being limited to concepts of comity and full faith and credit, our "legislature has adopted a scheme to combat the harrassing and vindictive use of custody proceedings with the concomitant result of inconsistent judgments among the several states." Campbell v. Campbell, (1979) 180 Ind.App. 351, 357, 388 N.E.2d 607, 610. That scheme, the UCCJA, provides the following ground rules for choosing a jurisdiction:

"(a) If a court of another state has made a custody decree, a court of this state shall not modify that decree unless (1) it appears to the court of this state that the court which rendered the decree does not now have jurisdiction under jurisdictional prerequisites substantially in accordance with this chapter or has declined to assume jurisdiction to modify the decree and (2) the court of this state has jurisdiction."

IC 81-1-11.6-14 (1977) (emphasis supplied) [hereinafter cited as section 14]. Also, the UCCJA defines jurisdiction by way of two alternate methods commonly referred to as *226 the "home state test" and the "significant connections test":

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

White v. White
755 N.E.2d 644 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2001)
In Re Guardianship of Cmw
755 N.E.2d 644 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2001)
Adams v. Cooper
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2000
McCaffery v. Green
931 P.2d 407 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1997)
State Ex Rel. Grape v. Zach
524 N.W.2d 788 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1994)
Canty v. Canty
874 P.2d 1000 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1994)
Roberts v. Johnson
625 N.E.2d 1288 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1993)
Matter of EH
612 N.E.2d 174 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1993)
Thomas B.H. v. Marion County Department of Public Welfare
612 N.E.2d 174 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1993)
Marquiss v. Marquiss
837 P.2d 25 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1992)
Smith v. Smith
594 N.E.2d 825 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1992)
Marriage of Schneider v. Schneider
555 N.E.2d 196 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1990)
State Ex Rel. D.S.K. v. Kasper
792 P.2d 118 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1990)
G.S. v. Ewing
1990 OK 1 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1990)
In Re Custody of Cox
536 N.E.2d 520 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1989)
Cox v. Lewis
536 N.E.2d 520 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1989)
Marriage of Bechtel v. Bechtel
536 N.E.2d 1053 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1989)
Harris v. Melnick
552 A.2d 38 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1989)
Kendall v. Whalen
526 A.2d 588 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1987)
In Re the Marriage of Leyda
398 N.W.2d 815 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
457 N.E.2d 223, 1983 Ind. App. LEXIS 3668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/funk-v-macaulay-indctapp-1983.