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Hammonds v. Parks

The trial court lacked jurisdiction under O.C.G.A. § 19-9-23 to grant the mother's oral motion for a change of custody since she did not bring the motion as a separate action and did not bring it in the father's county of residence.

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This case originated as a contempt action: the custodial father, Lorenzo Hammonds, alleged that the child’s mother, Eden Parks, had violated a provision of the custody order. Contrary to the rule that petitions for change of custody brought against custodial parents must be brought as separate actions, as well as the rule that such petitions must be brought in the custodial parent’s county of residence, OCGA § 19-9-23, the trial court granted the mother’s oral motion for change of custody. She was without jurisdiction to do so, and we reverse. That unauthorized custody ruling led to several subsequent unauthorized rulings, and we reverse those as well—with the exception of a contempt order against the father, which is moot because the term of incarceration has already been served.

One of the orders on appeal contains another contempt ruling on an issue properly before the trial court, which has not been challenged on appeal; we affirm that portion of that order. Finally, we do not review Hammonds’s request for reimbursement of child support and certain costs connected with the improper change-in-custody proceedings, because the request does not enumerate a trial court error.

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