In Re: Alanis

This proceeding arises out of a petition to modify a final order in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. Relator Artemio Arturo Alanis filed a petition for writ of mandamus, complaining of the trial court's order denying Alanis' plea to the jurisdiction and request for the trial court to decline jurisdiction in favor of California because Texas is an inconvenient forum. Neither the parents nor the child currently resides in Texas, yet one parent is still pursuing a modification suit in Texas. The trial court did not err in denying Alanis' plea to the jurisdiction; although Texas had lost exclusive continuing jurisdiction when the child and Alanis left Texas, at the time the modification suit was filed there was no court of another state that had jurisdiction, and, therefore, the Texas court was not precluded from exercising jurisdiction over the petition to modify its original determination. A request for a trial court to decline jurisdiction based on an inconvenient forum is closely analogous to a motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens, for which the Texas Supreme Court has held mandamus relief is available because denial of such a motion to dismiss cannot be adequately rectified on appeal. The trial court clearly abused its discretion in denying Alanis' request for the trial court to decline jurisdiction as an inconvenient forum under Texas Family Code §152.207. The writ of mandamus is conditionally granted. San Antonio Court of Appeals, No. 04-11-00127-CV, 07-13-2011.