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Spies v. Carpenter

The trial court erred in dismissing the entire divorce petition on the basis of forum non conveniens, instead of dismissing only the child custody portion of the case.

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James Spies “husband” and Cynthia Carpenter “wife” were married in California on December 17, 2000. They have two minor children, both of whom were born in that state. Husband is a movie and television producer and a consultant. The family moved to Tennessee for a film project in 2006, and then to the metropolitan Atlanta area in November of 2011. The parties separated on August 6, 2013. Wife returned to California with the children and enrolled them in school. In the meantime, husband relocated to Virginia for another film project.

On October 17, 2013, wife filed suit in Superior Court of California for legal separation from husband, and he was personally served in Virginia. Thereafter, November 21, 2013, the California court entered an order temporarily awarding wife sole custody of the children. That same day, husband filed a petition for divorce in Fulton County Superior Court, in which he requested, among other things, primary child custody. Wife entered a special appearance and moved to dismiss husband’s petition on the ground that, inter alia, the trial court is an inconvenient forum under OCGA § 19-9-67 of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act “UCCJEA”.

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