Godwin v. Bogart

749 So. 2d 450, 1998 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 351, 1998 WL 227961
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMay 8, 1998
Docket2970235
StatusPublished

This text of 749 So. 2d 450 (Godwin v. Bogart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Godwin v. Bogart, 749 So. 2d 450, 1998 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 351, 1998 WL 227961 (Ala. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

WRIGHT, Retired Appellate Judge.

This is the second time that these parties have been before this court. Godwin v. Bogart, 674 So.2d 606 (Ala.Civ.App.1995).

In 1991 Selena Godwin gave birth to a daughter, whose father is Robert Bogart. The mother and the child lived together until the mother’s death in 1993. After the mother’s death, Barbara Godwin, the maternal grandmother, filed a petition in the Pike County Circuit Court, seeking custody of the child. The trial court granted the maternal grandmother temporary custody of the child. Thereafter, the father; the maternal grandfather; and the paternal grandparents, Carl D. Bogart and Barbara G. Bogart, also sought custody of the child. In 1993, the paternal grandpar[452]*452ents, who are American citizens, were residents of Alabama.

In 1994 the paternal grandparents moved to England. On December 7, 1994, the Pike County Circuit Court entered a judgment, granting the father custody of the child. The court also granted the maternal grandparents and the paternal grandparents reasonable visitation rights, to be arranged through the father. Shortly thereafter, the father took the child to England to the paternal grandparents. The maternal grandmother appealed the trial court’s judgment, and this court affirmed that judgment. Godwin, supra.

On March 14, 1997, the maternal grandmother filed a petition to modify and for rule nisi, seeking specific visitation. On March 20, 1997, the Southampton County Court in England entered a “residence order” by consent that transferred custody of the child from the father to the paternal grandparents. On March 31, 1997, the maternal grandmother amended her petition, adding the paternal grandparents as defendants. On April 15, 1997, the paternal grandparents filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, to transfer, alleging that they had been residents of the United Kingdom since 1994 and that the child had resided in the United Kingdom since 1994. The maternal grandmother filed a response in opposition to the motion to dismiss. She also filed a motion for temporary visitation.

On September 18, 1997, the trial court entered an order, stating, in pertinent part,

“[The paternal grandparents’] ‘Motion to Dismiss’ is granted. This court lacks jurisdiction over [the paternal grandparents,] who have legal custody of the child made the basis of this suit. [The father] no longer has custody of the child in question, as a court in the United Kingdom, [the] Southampton County Court, has awarded custody to [the paternal grandparents]. Therefore, the proper forum to litigate visitation is the Southampton County Court of the United Kingdom.
“This case is ordered dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.”

The maternal grandmother filed a motion to alter or amend the September 18, 1997, order, which the trial court denied.

The maternal grandmother appeals, contending that the trial court erred in holding that it lacked in personam and/or subject matter jurisdiction and in dismissing her petition to modify.

In Personam Jurisdiction

Rule 4.2(a)(2), Ala. R. Civ. P., sets forth the requirements for personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant, which provides as follows:

“Sufficient Contacts. A person has sufficient contacts with the state when that person, acting directly or by agent, is or may be legally responsible as a consequence of that person’s
“(I) otherwise having some minimum contacts with this state and, under the circumstances, it is fair and reasonable to require the person to come to this state to defend an action. The minimum contacts referred to in this subdivision (I) shall be deemed sufficient, notwithstanding a failure to satisfy the requirements of subdivisions (A)-(H) of this subsection (2), so long as the prosecution of the action against a person in this state is not inconsistent with the constitution of this state or the Constitution of the United States.”

“Whether a court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant must be determined on a case by case basis.” Steel Processors, Inc. v. Sue’s Pumps, Inc. Rentals, 622 So.2d 910, 911 (Ala.1993). Our supreme court has set forth a two-part analysis for determining whether an Alabama court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant:

“ T) the determination of whether it is foreseeable to that nonresident defen[453]*453dant that he will be sued in this state; and
“ ‘2) the determination of the degree of contact that the nonresident defendant has with this state.’ ”

Steel Processors, Inc., 622 So.2d at 912 (quoting Keelean v. Central Bank of the South, 544 So.2d 153, 156-57 (Ala.1989)).

Therefore, we must determine whether the paternal grandparents “had certain minimum contacts with this state so that the maintenance of this suit does not offend ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ ” Ex parte Brislawn, 443 So.2d 32, 33 (Ala.1983) (quoting Mann v. Frank Hrubetz & Co., 361 So.2d 1021, 1022 (Ala.1978)). Further, our supreme court has held that where general jurisdiction does not exist, a trial court may still exercise jurisdiction if the defendant has sufficient contacts with this state in relation to the cause of action. Ex parte J.R.W., 667 So.2d 74 (Ala.1994); Murray v. Alfab, Inc., 601 So.2d 878 (Ala.1992).

The record reveals that in December 1994, the father, after being awarded custody of the child, took the child to the paternal grandparents in England. The father continues to reside in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The paternal grandparents admitted to the trial court, through their attorney, that they and the child return to Alabama at least twice a year and that they make the child available to the maternal grandparents for visitation. They also admitted that their visits to Alabama last approximately one month each time. The maternal grandmother has had visitation with the child, on average, seven to eight days per year.

The paternal grandparents accepted physical custody of the child, knowing that the jurisdiction and equity powers of the Pike County Circuit Court had been invoked to resolve a custody dispute between them, the father, the maternal grandfather, and the maternal grandmother. They also had knowledge that the Pike County Circuit Court awarded the maternal grandmother visitation rights with the child. While the paternal grandparents were visiting the father in Alabama, they were served with a copy of the maternal grandmother’s petition to modify.

Therefore, we conclude that the paternal grandparents’ activities and contacts with the State of Alabama regarding the child are such that the maintenance of the maternal grandmother’s petition does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice, and “under the circumstances, it is fair and reasonable to require the [paternal grandparents] to come to this state to defend [this] action.” Rule 4.2(a)(2)(I), Ala. R. Civ. P.; Ex parte J.R.W., supra.

We hold that the paternal grandparents have sufficient contacts with the State of Alabama regarding this action and that the trial court improperly held that it lacked in personam jurisdiction over the paternal grandparents.

Subject-matter Jurisdiction

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Related

Steel Processors v. Sue's Pumps, Inc.
622 So. 2d 910 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1993)
Godwin v. Bogart
674 So. 2d 606 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1995)
Mann v. Frank Hrubetz & Co., Inc.
361 So. 2d 1021 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1978)
Keelean v. Central Bank of the South
544 So. 2d 153 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1989)
Murray v. Alfab, Inc.
601 So. 2d 878 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1992)
Pitts v. Sutter
408 So. 2d 105 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1981)
Ex Parte Brislawn
443 So. 2d 32 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1983)
Ex Parte J.R.W.
667 So. 2d 74 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
749 So. 2d 450, 1998 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 351, 1998 WL 227961, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/godwin-v-bogart-alacivapp-1998.